By Joel Stottrup

Nasal mist vaccine for the H1N1 flu virus will be offered free at the Milaca public schools campus in Milaca this Saturday, Nov. 21 for Milaca and Princeton school children in kindergarten, first and second grades.

Mille Lacs County Public Health is administering the vaccine and it is strictly voluntary to have the vaccination, says Mille Lacs County Public Health Director Janelle Schroeder.

The hours of the clinic will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Due to the limited amount of the vaccine it will be given on a first come, first serve basis. Parents must be available to be with their child at the time of the vaccination.

Children under age nine will need two doses of the nasal mist H1N1 vaccine, says Princeton School District Nurse Dawn Sievert Rolf in a letter that she sent out to parents and guardians in the school district this week. The two nasal mist vaccinations must be three weeks apart, Sievert Rolf notes.

She said that if a child received the nasal H1N1 mist on Oct. 24 or later they will not be able to receive the nasal H1N1 mist until the next round of vaccine. Sievert Rolf did not say when that will be.
Her letter also states that the injectable type of H1N1 vaccine will be given at the same clinic this Saturday at the Milaca school campus between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. to children in kindergarten, first and second grades if they have any of the following:

• Chronic respiratory condition such as asthma, cystic fibrosis or if immunosuppressed.

• Other chronic medical conditions that prevent nasal spray administration.

The telephone number for questions to Mille Lacs County Public Health is 1-320-983-8318 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Other sources for information, said Sievert Rolf, are the websites www.mdhflu.com and www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/parents. She also said the child’s health care provider can address questions.
Sievert Rolf and Public Health Director Schroeder note that Mille Lacs County Public Health has only been allotted a limited amount of the H1N1 vaccine but will continue to get more shipments in the future.
Sievert Rolf says each county has restrictions on who will get the vaccine, and also when and where.
Sievert Rolf recommended that people should first call their health provider, and second, the county if they can’t fit into their medical clinic. The H1N1 vaccine shipments are coming in phases, she said.
Schroeder indicated that she would have liked if her agency had received more H1N1 vaccine than it did in the recent shipment. It’s been spotty as to the amounts distributed around the state by the Centers for Disease Control, Schroeder explained.

Schroeder noted that the amount distributed to counties was based on the population in each and that figure doesn’t necessarily reflect the population of its schools. The Minnesota Department of Health is trying to help remedy that situation, she added.

Vaccinations in
other counties

As this was written Monday afternoon, Sherburne County Public Health announced that the clinic it was offering the next day at the Sherburne Government Center was already filled. It was the H1N1 nasal spray for children ages 2-9 who are in a school district that goes into Sherburne.

Isanti County put on a clinic on Tuesday and also scheduled one for this Friday, Nov. 20 at the Isanti Primary School, and Monday, Nov. 23, at Braham Elementary School, both 3-6 p.m. Those are for students in kindergarten, first and second grades.

Benton County began running H1N1 vaccine clinics for:

• Children six months through four years.

• Children six months through age 18 with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, metabolic conditions, neurological disorders and/or neuromuscular disorders.

• Caregivers of those six months and younger eligible for nasal mist vaccine.

• Health care/emergency medical service personnel eligible for nasal mist vaccine.

You can call Benton County Public Health at 1-320-968-5154 for more information.

Benton has also scheduled H1N1 vaccination clinics at certain schools for all children six months through age eight, and youth ages 9-18 with underlying medical conditions. One clinic was for today (Thursday) at Foley Elementary and another is Nov. 23 at Mississippi Heights Elementary in Sauk Rapids.

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