Panhandle Health District

                                                            8500 N. Atlas Road         Hayden, Idaho  83835

www.phd1.idaho.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        Date:     December 11, 2009                   

Contact:                                                               Released by: Jeanne Bock, Director       

Cynthia Taggart

Public Information Officer

(208) 415-5108

(208) 818-7288 (cell)

Drop-in Clinics Offer H1N1 Vaccinations to All Over 6 Months Old

Hayden—Panhandle Health District (PHD) H1N1 vaccination clinics open Saturday, Dec. 12, will take walk-in clients after all people with appointments have received their vaccinations.

              The free H1N1 vaccinations are available to all people older than 6 months at the PHD clinics scheduled throughout the five northern counties.

              Starting Tuesday, Dec. 15, PHD will offer drop-in vaccination clinics for several hours daily a few days each week in each of the five northern counties. These clinics are open to anyone older than 6 months, regardless of health conditions. No appointments are needed.

              The Dec. 12 clinics are open to drop-in traffic on a first come, first-served basis the following hours:

• PHD Hayden, 8500 N. Atlas Rd., 2:30-5 p.m.
• PHD St. Maries, 137 N. 8th St., 12:30-2 p.m.
• Sandpoint High School, 410 S. Division, Sandpoint, 2-4 p.m.
• Boundary County Middle School, 6577 Main St., Bonners Ferry, 1-2:30 p.m.
• Health & Education Building, 858 Commerce Dr., Smelterville (across from Walmart), 1:30-2:30 p.m.

              A combination of holiday shopping and a recent drop in the number of flu cases has bumped H1N1 from many minds. But smart shoppers will add the H1N1 vaccination to their lists to protect themselves and everyone around them from the virus that has sickened millions already and may to return for a third round early in the new year.

              People wanting vaccinations need to bring no special information to the drop-in clinics. Everyone needs to fill out a short consent form, which will be available in each clinic. Consent forms also are also available on the PHD website—www.phd1.idaho.gov. PHD encourages people to print, fill out and bring the forms along to the clinic to save time. The consent form asks for name, age, address and about allergies to vaccine ingredients.

              The clinics scheduled for next week are listed below. They are also listed on the PHD website—www.phd1.idaho.gov—along with other important information about the H1N1 influenza virus.  PHD also operates a toll-free information hotline at 866-528-3501 to answer H1N1 questions Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Clinic Schedule

Tuesday, Dec. 15

Wednesday, Dec. 16

Thursday, Dec. 17

Friday, Dec. 18