Posted on: Saturday, November 6, 2004
Tripler to resume flu shots for high-risk individuals
Advertiser Staff
Tripler Army Medical Center has received enough vaccine to resume flu shots for high-risk military personnel and their dependents and is offering clinics for children and adults this month, officials said yesterday.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies those at highest risk as: babies ages 6 months to 23 months; people 65 years and older; those who have a chronic illness; women who will be pregnant during flu season; people who live in nursing homes or other care facilities; and those who have or who take care of a baby. • For more information, check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention site at www.cdc.gov and at Tripler, check www.tamc.amedd.army.mil and click on flu updates. Call Tripler's Immunization Clinic at 433-6334 and the Pediatric Immunization Clinic at 433-6234. The pediatric clinic will offer shots to high-risk children from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; and from 8 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesdays.
Patients who receive their medical care through Hickam Air Force Base, Pearl Harbor and Kane'ohe Bay clinics should get their shots through their primary care providers at those clinics, said Tippy.
Tripler hopes to receive even more vaccine and will send out community updates if that happens, she said. She could not say how many doses are available but said officials may have enough vaccine to cover all those at high risk.
The Oct. 5 announcement that Chiron Corp. would not provide 46 million doses of vaccine this year, about half the U.S. supply, prompted a severe nationwide shortage. Officials are asking most healthy children and adults to skip the shots this year to save the scarce supply for those who need it most.
State officials have said about 230,000 doses of vaccine have been distributed within the state, leaving health officials optimistic that those most at risk can receive shots.
The military medical center's Allergy and Immunization Clinic will provide flu shots to adults most vulnerable to the seasonal illness from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 19 and 23 on the center's fourth floor, said Tripler spokeswoman Margaret Tippy.
Vaccine details
