Orange County H1N1 vaccination numbers drop

With a stack of Valentine cards ready for addressing, nurse Fran Whitfield passed the time in Lenoir Hall last week on the off chance that someone might stop by for an H1N1 vaccine.

Her continuing education reading sat out on the table, and two scrawled pages of the beginning of a manuscript were held down with a bottle of hand sanitizer.

Whitfield could write a whole novel on her experiences meeting students in Lenoir Hall, she said.

Get the vaccine at a
campus clinic between
9 a.m. and 4 p.m.:

Today, Wednesday, Feb. 23 and Feb. 25: Lenoir Hall, inside the Pit entrance
Thursday: Rams Head Dining Hall lobby
Feb. 24: Michael Hooker Research Center, lower level atrium

OR

at the Chapel Hill walk-in clinic:
Southern Human Services Center
2501 Homestead Road
Chapel Hill, N.C., 27516
Mondays - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Thursdays - 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

But while H1N1 is still a public health concern, Whitfield is probably in the midst of her novel’s last chapter.

On-campus and countywide clinics are drawing smaller crowds. And with only about 30 percent of Orange County vaccinated and a spike in H1N1 cases expected in the spring, the health department is considering closing its clinics in favor of an outreach-heavy approach.

The flu has simply fallen off many people’s radars, Whitfield said.

She has been giving H1N1 vaccines on campus twice a week since October, and the average number of students she saw in a day last week was 12. In October, it was 60.

Senior Sara Isaacson hasn’t gotten the H1N1 vaccine yet.

“Honestly, it hasn’t really been convenient,” she said.

Isaacson, like many students, wasn’t aware of Whitfield’s presence in Lenoir Hall.

Although the seasonal and H1N1 flu aren’t as prevalent as they were this time last year, that isn’t a reason not to get vaccinated, said Wayne Sherman, director of Orange County’s personal health services.

“There’s a concern we may see a third wave of H1N1. This influenza virus is related to this 1918 flu, and that one came in waves also,” he said. “It impacted communities pretty hard.”

Since the vaccine — both the injection and the nasal spray — became publicly available in December, the health department has operated walk-in vaccination clinics between the two county health clinics five days a week.

They used to have 120 appointments plus walk-ins daily in December and January, but this week they were down to only 30 patients each day.

Sherman said people have embraced vaccination teams visiting offices and shopping malls. There are at least 13 such events planned for the rest of the month.

The health department recently sent nurses to Weaver Street Market in Carrboro, where at least 150 people lined up for a shot.

On Sunday, the team visited a host of local churches.

“We’ll go anywhere anytime to vaccinate if people will just let us know,” said Ann Zellmer, the head H1N1 nurse for the county.

“There’s absolutely no doubt that it’s not too late to get vaccinated, because seasonal flu peaks in February and not December, like most people think,” she said.

H1N1 will be a county priority through the spring, even if some no longer see the urgency.

“The relative lack of media attention is a significant factor,” Zellmer said, referring to why the clinics are slowing down.

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