More than 2,000 attend mass flu clinic

A total of 2,039 people were vaccinated against the seasonal flu on Saturday in a mass flu clinic at Douglas High School.

East Fork Deputy Chief Steve Tognoli said the event went smoothly. He estimated there were about 200 doses of vaccine left at the event's end.

There were nearly 300 people waiting for the clinic to open at 9 a.m. Saturday.

"The process took about 20 minutes per person," according to Sheriff's Sgt. Jim Halsey. Though by the end, the lines had dropped and people were able to fill out their paperwork and get vaccinated in less than 10 minutes.

County Commission Chairwoman Nancy McDermid was working the counter at the door of the high school and said some people told her they'd been waiting since 7 a.m.

Some participants seemed reluctant to take the flu mist, which consisted of weakened live flu virus, as opposed to the shot. Those 2-49 years old are allowed to use the mist.

Volunteers from the Douglas County Sheriff's Citizen Patrol, American Red Cross, Carson City Health & Human Services and the sheriff's Explorers helped out at the clinic.

Awareness of the flu has led to increased demand for flu vaccinations. Carson Valley Medical Center spokeswoman Shannon Albert said the Gardnerville hospital has used its full supply of seasonal flu vaccinations.

She suggested anyone seeking a flu shot should contact their physician.

Doses distributed at Saturday's clinic were not for the H1N1 swine flu, but the seasonal virus, which is responsible for 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations in the United States each year.

Those who wanted a H1N1 flu vaccine would have had to be in Las Vegas on Saturday, the first place in the state where a public inoculation clinic has been held.

Those vaccinations were limited to members of priority groups, including pregnant women, caregivers for infants, health care and emergency medical care personnel children 6 months to 4 years old and children with chronic medical conditions between 5 and 18 years old.

According to the State Health Division, swine flu inoculation clinics will be listed on their Web site at http://flu.nv.gov. Only Clark County has listed a clinic so far.

"Due to the limited quantity of vaccine available, there hasn't been any public H1N1 flu clinics scheduled for people who are in target groups," State Health Officer Dr. Tracey Green said. "We anticipate having enough vaccine to have larger vaccination clinics for H1N1 by November."

Green encouraged people to keep checking the flu locator link for updates.

The Centers of Disease Control reports that the flu is already widespread in Nevada, and all but a few states.