County exhausts swine flu vaccine, expects more

Santa Cruz County Health Services announced this week that the agency has administered all 5,000 H1N1 vaccines it received from the state.
However, health care providers countywide had received a total of 28,640 H1N1 vaccine doses as of Oct. 22, and they continue to provide the vaccine at local clinics.
The county expects more of the vaccine to arrive, and officials plan to have large-scale vaccination clinics in November and December.
People targeted for the vaccine are young people from 6 months to 24 years old; pregnant women; anyone who lives with or cares for an infant younger than 6 months old; health care workers and emergency response personnel; and anyone age 25 through 64 with a medical condition that heightens the risk of flu-related complications.
Free large-scale vaccination clinics are planned in coming weeks at the following places:
• Santa Cruz Health Center, 1080 Emeline Ave., in Santa Cruz: 2 to 8 p.m. Nov. 7 (1,000 doses for the aforementioned target groups)
• Watsonville Youth Center, 30 Maple St.: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 14
• Cabrillo College cafeteria: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 21
• Santa Cruz Health Center: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 12
The H1N1 virus, called swine flu, is still spreading in the county, but few serious cases have been reported.
As of Monday, Oct. 26, 24 people have been hospitalized for more than a day, five have been admitted to intensive care and one died — a woman with other health conditions who died in July.
For details: www.santacruzhealth.org/SwineFlu or 454-4343.