H1N1 flu vaccination clinic set Wednesday in Jamestown

A H1N1 flu vaccination clinic will be held for the next priority group on Wednesday. The Central Valley Health District has about 700 doses available for children ages 6 months to 18 years and for people who are caregivers for children younger than 6 months. The clinic will be held from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Jamestown High School or until the vaccine runs out.

“We’re holding the clinic at the school facility while they’re off for the Veterans Day holiday,” said Robin Iszler, CVHD administrator. “We’re just using the facility, it is not a school vaccination.”

Iszler said a responsible adult age 18 or older will need to sign a consent form for any child being vaccinated. The clinic is open to any youth in Stutsman or Logan counties. Children under the age of 9 will require a second vaccination in 30 days.

The number of flu cases in Stutsman County and North Dakota continues to rise. As of Nov. 4 there were 2,475 cases of confirmed or suspected H1N1 flu in North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Department of Health.

The same report said Stutsman County has 214 cases.

“That is the third most in North Dakota following Burleigh with 456 and Cass with 241,” said Deanna Van Bruggen, public information officer for CVHD. “We don’t know if people are going to the doctor more and getting more testing done here than in other counties. We don’t want to say we’re sicker here than elsewhere in the state. There are a lot of statistics to figure.”

While the upcoming clinic is aimed at the newest priority group, CVHD will continue to vaccinate people from the earlier priority groups of health care workers and pregnant women.

“We’re working with the clinics to vaccinate pregnant women,” Iszler said. “But if for some reason they haven’t been notified they can come to the clinic.”

Iszler said CVHD will continue to receive H1N1 vaccine into January.

“Even people that have had the flu need to get vaccinated,” she said. “We also know pandemic flu comes in waves. We had a wave last spring and it went away. We are having another wave now and we don’t know what the future will bring.”

The CVHD has dispensed approximately 700 doses of the H1N1 vaccine this fall without any reported side effects, Iszler said.

More information on the vaccination clinic is available from the CVHD at 252-8130. The North Dakota flu hotline is 1-866-207-2880. Information is also available www.ndflu.com. There is no charge for the vaccination.

Sun reporter Keith Norman can be reached at

(701) 952-8452 or by e-mail at knorman@jamestownsun.com

Tags: life, helth, h1n1, vaccine, vaccination, clinic