Published: November 11, 2009 11:28 am      

Seasonal, H1N1 flu shots offered

H1N1 high risk groups

Pregnant women

Parents/caregivers of infants younger than 6 months of age

Children and young adults from 6 months to 24 years of age

Individuals aged 25 to 64 years of age with underlying chronic conditions or who are immune compromised

Health care workers and emergency service providers





Seasonal and novel H1N1 flu shots will be available this week.

There aren’t any novel H1N1 shots available in Zionsville, but H1N1 shots for persons who are in high-risk, priority groups as established by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be available from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21, in the Farm Bureau Community Building at the Boone County 4-H Fairgrounds, 1100 E. County Road 100 South, said Chuck Ritz, a Boone County Emergency Management Agency public information officer who is coordinating H1N1 releases for the health department. There is no charge for persons in the high-risk groups, Ritz said.

The seasonal flu shot will be available from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, for $25 at Harrison College at the corner of 96th Street and Zionsville Road. They are also available at HealthPointe Immediate Care, 12050 N. Michigan Road, Zionsville, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sundays. The cost is $35 and shots are available from ages infant to adult, said Veronica Orpen, HealthPointe spokeswoman.

“It’s important for the community to be immunized and we have them and we are excited and surprised that we did receive them,” she said.

As of last week, the care center had 600 doses available.

Local Walgreens and CVS Pharmacies also have flu shots available. To find more flu shot locations in Zionsville, visit www.flucliniclocator.org, a service of the American Lung Foundation.

A report in the Journal of The American Medical Association indicated persons 50 and older who were hospitalized because of suspected novel H1N1 infection, or other influenza-like diseases, were more likely to die than younger patients. But, the study found, nearly a third of the persons hospitalized were younger than 18 — and the virus “causes generally mild disease,” researchers found.

Researchers, led by Dr. Janice K. Louie of the California Department of Public Health, found that 18 to 20 percent of persons in the 50 and older age group died. Viral pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome were the most common causes of death, the researchers found.

Whether those patients were infected with verified novel H1N1 or other flu-like diseases, however, was not the sole cause of death. Contributing factors included obesity, hypertension and gastrointestinal disease, the researchers found.

Although a higher percentage of 50 and older hospitalized patients died, about 30 percent of all hospitalized persons, regardless of age, had to be admitted to intensive care units, the researchers found.

Dr. Louie and her colleagues at the CDPH recommended further research to determine if obesity was a contributing factor in the severity of H1N1 infections.

Rod Rose contributed to this story.