Current Situation:
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department announces that a limited numbers of additional H1N1 vaccines have been delivered in San Luis Obispo County, both to the Public Health Department and private providers.
Of this shipment, the Public Health Department received 5,600 doses of vaccine. This represents only a portion of the vaccine so far requested from vaccine manufacturers.

The Public Health Department will distribute these doses to their vaccination partners in accordance with CDC criteria for prioritization of vaccine. Vaccine priority groups include:

• pregnant women
• persons aged 6 months to 24 years
• persons aged 25 to 64 year with long-term health problems
• People who live with or care for children younger than 6 months
• Health care and emergency medical workers
The majority of this batch of vaccine will go to pediatricians, OB/GYN providers and Emergency Medical Services personnel who respond to 911 medical calls. A small portion will be given the Public Health Department clinic sites in Paso Robles, Grover Beach and San Luis Obispo, by appointment during normal clinic hours. As we work today on assuring that all our partners have appropriate supplies and vaccine today, distribution will begin Monday.

“With the arrival of this vaccine, we will work to achieve our goal of vaccinating as many people as possible who are at the highest risk” said Dr. Penny Borenstein, Public Health Officer. “We anticipate that eventually, every person who wants a vaccine will receive one. But for now, we need to focus our efforts on those persons most at risk, as determined by the CDC.”

Some vaccine partners have received direct shipments from the distributor. The Public Health Department has little control over the shipping process and is not able to say for certain how many doses each provider has received. It is best to contact your private provider to find out if they have vaccine available. It is known that Cal Poly and all of the county’s hospitals received doses, and will begin vaccinating persons meeting the CDC criteria in clinics as early as next week. Hospital doses will be used to vaccinate Health Care Workers and high risk in-patients only.

“These first few weeks of vaccine distribution have been unpredictable, and are likely to remain so in the near future” said Dr. Borenstein. “We need to remain patient and flexible, but will continue to ensure that all vaccine received gets out into the community as fast as possible.”

Additional Information: Please visit www.slocounty.ca.gov/health/publichealth/swineflu.htm,
Or call the Public Health Information Line
(24 hour number): 805-788-2903 or 805-781-5500, M-F, 8am to 5pm.
Información adicional: Información en español está disponible. Favor de llamar la línea de información de salud pública