Although the Central Coast has not been hit as hard as some areas by the H1N1 virus, vaccination programs are ramping up in both Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

However, public health officials in the two counties are handling distribution in very different ways.

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department has been distributing its vaccine through private providers and public clinics. San Luis Obispo County Public Health has chosen to work through its private providers and its public and private schools.

According to the latest statistics from the California Department of Public Health, 5,380 cases of H1N1 flu have been confirmed in the state and 297 people have died from complications of the virus.

In Santa Barbara County, there have been 47 hospitalizations and three deaths attributed to the virus.

In San Luis Obispo County, 30 people have been hospitalized and just one has died.

Nationwide, 22,364 people have been hospitalized with the virus and 877 have died, according to the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Approximately 50,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine have been shipped to Santa Barbara County so far, according to Susan Klein-Rothschild, spokeswoman for Santa Barbara County Public Health.

Those doses have been delivered to the Public Health Department, Cottage Hospital, Sansum Clinic and other health-care providers, Klein-Rothschild said.

Santa Barbara County officials have been offering a number of mass vaccination clinics targeting high-risk groups, which include pregnant women, children 6 months through 4 years old, parents of infants, health-care workers, along with children and young adults with substantial medical conditions.

“We’re doing a combination of things. We’re making sure our doctors are getting them out to people of higher risk,” Klein-Rosthschild said. “And we’re doing public clinics.”

While Santa Barbara County has been holding public clinics, San Luis Obispo County health officials  began distributing vaccines through the elementary schools.

Last week, the department vaccinated approximately 1,200 children at nine schools.

This week, county public health plans to expand its efforts, moving from two to five schools per day.

Michelle Shoresman, emergency preparedness program manager for San Luis Obispo County, said the plan is to finish vaccinating both public and private elementary school children before the Thanksgiving holiday, and then start in the middle schools and high schools after the break, provided vaccine is available.

San Luis Obispo County received notice on Monday that about 6,700 nasal-mist doses of the vaccine should arrive later this week.

“We’re trying to get the youngest kids vaccinated first,” Shoresman said. “We’ve been finding that the children are doing a lot better with the injections than we thought. They’ve been doing really, really well.”

Children under 10 should receive a second dose of the vaccine approximately a month after their initial dose,although the county is considering its options because of the limited availability of the vaccine.

In order for San Luis Obispo County school children to be vaccinated, parents must complete and return a permission slip to the school site by the designated deadline.

Parents who would like to get a consent form or a vaccine information sheet, can do so at the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education Web site at www.SLOCOE.org.

San Luis Obispo County will be distributing the vaccine by appointment only this week in Grover Beach, San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles. Approximately

900 doses of the nasal mist will be provided to people in the high-risk groups.

 

H1N1 vaccination clinics this week

• The H1N1 vaccine is available through the public health departments in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties  this week.
• In Santa Barbara County, clinics are scheduled in both Lompoc and Santa Maria.
• In Lompoc, vaccinations will be offered from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the clinic at 301 N. R St.
• In Santa Maria, the vaccinations will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at 2115 S. Centerpointe Parkway.
• In San Luis Obispo County, three clinic sites –  Grover Beach, San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles – will be taking appointments for vaccinations. Appointments will be available from 3 to 6 p.m. today and Thursday.
• The Grover Beach facility is at 286 S. 16th St. The San Luis Obispo site is at 2191 Johnson Ave. And in Paso Robles, the clinic is at 723 Walnut Drive.
• Vaccinations in both counties are reserved for people in high risk groups which include: pregnant women, children 6 months through 4 years old, parents of infants, health care workers and children and young adults with substantial medical conditions
• Anyone wanting to schedule an appointment in San Luis Obispo County will need to obtain verification of a medical condition before contacting the assistance center at 781-5500. Appointments will not be made at the local clinic sites.