“I was thoroughly impressed by the organization and patience of the people I met waiting to be vaccinated at an after school clinic in Norfolk targeted to those in priority groups. I was extremely proud of all of the nurses, staff and volunteers who worked cheerfully to vaccinate more than 200 individuals in the first hour.
After another clinic in northern Virginia, the health department received a note that was titled, ‘A wonderful experience at the H1N1 flu clinic.’ It went on to read, ‘All of the staff I encountered were amazingly pleasant, helpful, patient and efficient. The whole clinic worked like a well-oiled machine and for that I am truly grateful.’
And let me say that I am truly grateful for the public health workers and the people who are working together in this unprecedented vaccination process and to those who continue to work on many other core public health initiatives during this very busy time.”
–Dr. Karen Remley, State Health Commissioner
Over 3 million doses of H1N1 vaccine have been released to Virginia. We are now offering vaccine to any Virginian who wishes to be protected against H1N1 influenza.
As of December 10, more than 2 million doses of H1N1 vaccine have been released to Virginia.
Broader vaccination opportunities are available. Physicians are encouraged to offer the vaccine to all patients.
VDH is working with the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association to encourage hospitals to offer H1N1 vaccinations to all patients who are discharged from the hospital, similar to current seasonal flu vaccination procedures.
The nasal mist form of H1N1 flu vaccine will start to be shipped to pharmacies the week of December 14. The nasal mist is recommended for healthy, non-pregnant persons 2 through 49 years of age. Other forms of the vaccine should start arriving in pharmacies and retail outlets by the winter holiday break, making it available to all Virginians.
As of December 3, more than 1.8 million doses of vaccine have been sent to Virginia.
The CDC has received reports of fraudulent emails (phishing) with a subject line heading of, “CDC sponsored State Vaccination Program.” The message requests that users create a personal 2009 H1N1 profile on the cdc.gov Web site. Please note the CDC has NOT implemented such a program. Users that click on the email are at risk of having a malicious code or virus installed on their computer system.
As of November 12, one million doses of novel H1N1 vaccine have been delivered to or are in transit to vaccination sites in Virginia.
An updated, Google Web-based flu clinic locater tool for vaccination locations will be available on Monday, November 16.