L.A. County to open swine flu clinics Friday for the uninsured
October 20, 2009 | 11:27
am
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health will hold its first swine flu clinics Friday in Encino and Culver City intended for uninsured, high-risk residents, officials said.
The Balboa Sports Complex at 17015 Burbank Boulevard in Encino will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the Veterans Memorial Auditorium at 4117 Overland Ave. in Culver City will receive patients from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The vaccination program will expand to 13 sites Saturday. A full list of H1N1 inoculation sites scheduled through early November is on the department's website. Those without access to the Internet can call 2-1-1 to find their nearest H1N1 clinic.
Health officer Jonathan Fielding said those with insurance or those not in the priority groups are not guaranteed inoculations at the L.A. County H1N1 clinics. L.A. County health officials are focusing on immunizing uninsured people most at risk for infection, including pregnant women, those from 6 months to 24 years old, and adults between the ages of 25 and 64 who have chronic health problems.
Because infants younger than 6 months cannot be vaccinated for the H1N1 flu, parents and caregivers are also in the priority group.
Health departments in Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties have already begun distributing the swine flu vaccine. Ventura County clinics are reporting strong patient demand, said Sheila Murphy, a spokeswoman for the county Health Care Agency.
Health officials in San Bernardino County began offering the nasal mist version of the inoculation two weeks ago, and the Ventura County Health Care Agency and the Riverside County Department of Public Health began last week.
Officials in San Bernardino and Ventura counties are focusing on offering the nasal mist version of the inoculation for children from 2 to 18 years old and for anyone from 2 to 48 who has contact with infants less than 6 months old. In Riverside County, officials are focusing on giving the vaccine first to children between the ages of 2 and 12.
Officials in Ventura and San Bernardino counties say their clinics are open to the general public. Riverside County authorities say those with health insurance should first ask their doctor for the swine flu shot.
Orange County plans to launch its own clinics but has not yet released a schedule, said Deanne Thompson, spokeswoman for the county’s Health Care Agency.
Because infants younger than 6 months cannot be vaccinated for the H1N1 flu, parents and caregivers are also in the priority group.
Health departments in Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties have already begun distributing the swine flu vaccine. Ventura County clinics are reporting strong patient demand, said Sheila Murphy, a spokeswoman for the county Health Care Agency.
Health officials in San Bernardino County began offering the nasal mist version of the inoculation two weeks ago, and the Ventura County Health Care Agency and the Riverside County Department of Public Health began last week.
Officials in San Bernardino and Ventura counties are focusing on offering the nasal mist version of the inoculation for children from 2 to 18 years old and for anyone from 2 to 48 who has contact with infants less than 6 months old. In Riverside County, officials are focusing on giving the vaccine first to children between the ages of 2 and 12.
Officials in Ventura and San Bernardino counties say their clinics are open to the general public. Riverside County authorities say those with health insurance should first ask their doctor for the swine flu shot.
Orange County plans to launch its own clinics but has not yet released a schedule, said Deanne Thompson, spokeswoman for the county’s Health Care Agency.
-- Rong-Gong Lin II
Related:
U.S., Mexico face shortage of H1N1 flu vaccine
Outbreaks of flu are 'way up' in L.A. County
Swine flu spreading rapidly in California, health officials say
FDA says don't buy swine flu drugs online
There will be a lot of illegal aliens at these things. I have seen it before. It doesn't bother me as much as it did a few years ago when seasonal flu vaccine was in very short supply and a lot of people couldn't get the vaccine at all. Of course, there was the health department offering vaccine to those who didn't have insurance AND could not afford to pay. The three Health Departments that I visited as part of my job had lobbies filled with illegal aliens.
Posted by: Joe Jericho | October 20, 2009 at 02:31 PM
This is the dumbest thing yet give the uninsured non working people swine flu shots. Let the working man that has insurance get the swine flu and miss work because he can't get shots for his family.
Posted by: caseclosed | October 20, 2009 at 08:04 PM
The truth is that neither Obama, the Democratic Congress, RINO Lindsey Graham, nor Juan McCain really care about you getting this terrible illness.
"How can you say that?" those who trust in government ask. No conspiracy theory needed. If they cared, they would close the border. There would be limits on travel from Mexico (Mexico City has been cited as ground zero of the disease with many, many deaths) into the US.
Homeland Security Czar Napolitano stated she has absolutely no intention of doing so.
Maybe there is a method to the Obama Administration's madness. By passively allowing the import of a pandemic, millions of Americans may be forced to rely on his "largess" to take care of the astronomical costs when we run out of hospital beds and medicine. Rationing will be compelled by the circumstances he created with his open borders policy.
So where does that leave us? Well, the problem is that even without the help of our government, ordinary civility could save a lot of health care costs and possibly lives. Why is that a problem? Multiculturalism and "diversity" have so ingrained an anti-Western attitude that formerly commonplace concepts like covering your mouth when you cough and not expectorating on the ground are seen as puritanical.
Completely oblivious to the havoc they are spreading, millions in Los Angeles are spewing germs onto those around them. This is a direct consequence in the breakdown of cultural norms.
In the Far East, spitting is commonplace. In San Francisco it is commonplace to ride the BART and see Asians spitting on the floor on the buses and trains.
Twenty years ago, Jesse Jackson marched on Stanford and mindlessly chanted "Hey, Ho, Western Civ has GOT to go!" Well, Western Civilization has gone and now no one can agree as to what behaviors should be commonly accepted.
Courtesy is outdated. "Who are you to judge and ask me to cover my mouth!"
There is a high price to pay in loss of liberty and uncounted costs for this foolishness.
Posted by: ELVISNIXON.COM | October 21, 2009 at 11:02 AM
Just because someone is uninsured doesn't mean they are not working.
Posted by: Natalie DeJohn | October 21, 2009 at 12:06 PM
You need to do what you need to do to get the flu shot. This process is about reducing the spread of the virus, so it's in all of our interests to make sure that everyone gets vaccinated, regardless of their insurance coverage or lack there of.
Posted by: John | October 23, 2009 at 04:21 PM