Swine flu vaccinations hit the slots

Health officials hope they'll hit the jackpot by offering swine flu vaccinations in casinos.

Carson City Health Department spokeswoman Pam Graber said vaccines will be available at the Horizon in Stateline 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today and upstairs at Sharkey's 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 19.

Carson City is coordinating the vaccination effort for Douglas County. They went to the MontBleu on Thursday.

Graber said bringing the shots to where people congregate is a new tactic for health officials.

"We found having folks come to the shots worked well in the beginning," she said. "But once the holidays passed, bringing shots to people is what worked."

Graber said 174 people received vaccinations at a clinic in the Gardnerville Ranchos on Saturday.

"We thought we'd have more, but that's 174 more people than were vaccinated before."

She said the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta is warning that it isn't unusual for the flu to come in waves.

"We were told it's not too late," she said. "Pandemics do have waves. If another wave occurs, the victims are going to be folks with underlying medical conditions."

Saturday's clinic was at the Gardnerville Ranchos Volunteer Fire Department. Graber said Carson City received help from the East Fork Fire & Paramedic Districts, Douglas County Emergency Services, Minden Emergent Care, Carson Valley Medical Center, the Carson City School District, the American Red Cross, the Carson City Community Emergency Response Training team, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and Citizen's Patrol.