People who meet “high risk” requirements but can’t get a swine flu vaccination through a private health care provider can try to get one of the roughly 18,000 remaining doses the county is set to give at three clinics on Monday.
The clinics in Grover Beach, Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo will also be open to children older than 6 months but not yet in school and who can’t get the vaccination through private providers.
Those considered high-risk include pregnant women, caregivers of infants under six months, health care professionals, anyone under 24 and people ages 19 to 64 who have underlying health conditions such as asthma, diabetes or neuromuscular disease.
Since H1N1 was first detected in the United States in April, symptoms with the virus have ranged from mild to severe, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most people who have been sick have recovered without needing medical treatment, the CDC said.
Vaccinations from the batch are also being distributed to schools and emergency medical services personnel.
So far, swine flu vaccinations have been given at 32 elementary schools, and children at 44 schools are expected to be vaccinated by the end of November. More school vaccinations are planned for December, public health officials said.
To date, county health care providers have received more than 40,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, officials said. About 22,000 of those doses — 55 percent — have been shipped to local obstetricians, pediatricians, family doctors, hospitals and college health clinics.
The county Public Health Department reports 34 hospitalizations countywide to date and one death linked to swine flu infection.
There have been 158 laboratory confirmations of the disease — up from 111 cases reported one week ago.
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