October 7, 2009 – Our Town – Delaware

Super Flu Saturday
Delaware General Health District’s vaccination clinic set for October 17

Image courtesy of the Delaware General Health District

Residents are able to watch the Battling Bishop men’s soccer team take on the Wooster Fighting Scots, participate in the Northwest Neighborhood Association’s annual Ghost Walk, support HelpLine of Delaware and Morrow Counties Inc. by attending the group’s “Falling in Love with Jazz” fundraiser, and be serenaded by the Central Ohio Symphony at its 31st season debut.

But before your calendar gets too crammed, the Delaware General Health District hopes that you’ll consider attending its Super Flu Saturday for Families to get your regular seasonal flu shot. The event will held from 9 a.m. to noon at the district’s downtown office, 3 W. Winter St. The cost is $15 for adults ages 19 and over, and $7 for children ages 6 months to 18 years. (All fees are on a sliding scale based on income.)

If your calendar won’t accommodate the super Saturday event, several other flu clinics are scheduled as well, including Tuesday evening clinics from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on November 10 and November 24 and Wednesday afternoon clinics from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on November 4, 18, and 25, all at the Health District’s downtown office. For a full list of Health District clinics, visit www.delawarehealth.org.

Linda Diamond, development officer for the Health District, encourages people to keep watching for updates on flu clinic dates and times, as some rescheduling may be done based on vaccine supplies for the both the regular and H1N1 flu strains.

“We expect to have plenty of regular seasonal flu vaccine, so that shouldn’t be a problem,” Diamond says. “But we’ll have to see what the supply of H1N1 vaccine is like.”

Ohio Wesleyan students who wish to be vaccinated for regular seasonal flu should be able to do so soon on campus, but employees are being asked to utilize off-site clinics to ensure the University has a sufficient vaccine supply for students, says Marsha Tilden, C.N.P., director of OWU’s Student Health Services. OWU student clinic details will be shared as quickly as possible.

Ohio Wesleyan also expects to be able to provide H1N1 vaccines to students, but when the University will receive its doses is unknown. Anyone on the priority vaccination list who wishes to receive the H1N1 inoculation—including Ohio Wesleyan students and employees—is asked to preregister on the Health District Web site at www.delawarehealth.org. Those on the H1N1 priority list include pregnant women, people from ages 6 months through 24 years, and people ages 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with a higher risk of medical complications from the flu. These conditions include asthma, diabetes, and heart disease.

In the meantime, both Ohio Wesleyan and the Health District are reminding people to wash their hands, sneeze into tissues or elbows, stay home when sick, and follow good health guidelines to try to limit the spread of the flu viruses.

For more information about H1N1 flu, including good health guidelines, visit safety.owu.edu/H1N1Influenza.html.

– Cole Hatcher