Beat the Next Flu Wave

City Agencies and Businesses Promote “H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine & Education Week”

San Francisco, CA— One of the greatest medical advances in modern history is coming to a store, an office, a clinic or even a corporate lunch room near you. It’s the vaccine—a miraculous set of serums that has wiped out polio, made smallpox extinct and prevented the loss of billions of hours in sick leave, to name just a few of its accomplishments. And now the H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine has arrived in San Francisco in time and in sufficient quantity to protect you and your family from getting sick during this winter’s rainy season when people spend more time indoors and are more likely to pick up the flu virus. Getting an H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine now will also protect individuals from what public health officials are calling the next flu wave.

If you are a San Francisco resident or worker, Mayor Newsom and a number of other agencies and businesses who care about the public’s health want everyone to get a dose of the vaccine during what the Mayor has declared as “H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine & Education Week, January 25-29.”

“We promised this City that everyone who wanted a vaccine would be able to get one,” noted Mayor Gavin Newsom. “Now we are making good on that promise. I urge everyone to use this opportunity to protect themselves and their loved ones by getting an H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine.”

Although the number of new cases has ebbed for now, H1N1 swine flu is still very much with us. Since San Francisco’s first case was identified in April 2009, the H1N1 Swine Flu has affected thousands of City residents, hospitalized over 100 and caused the death of eight individuals. During H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine & Education Week, the public will have its greatest opportunity to date to get a dose of the vaccine that has finally become available to everyone, and not just those at high risk. Vaccinations range from free to low cost, depending on location, and will be offered as injections as well as the more popular FluMist nasal form.

All over the City, agencies and clinics are ramping up their outreach and promotional efforts, posting flyers, extending hours and offering special pricing. To make it easy to get an H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine, corporate partners such as Walgreens, Safeway, Kaiser Permanente and Maxim Health Systems are promoting their drop-in vaccine services and educating the public in multiple languages about the importance of getting vaccinated. Community disaster response organizations such as SF CARD, are blasting out information to their constituents. The Adult Immunization & Travel Clinic at 101 Grove St. welcomes drop-in’s from the public and will also be offering a special opportunity to City employees with current ID. Meanwhile, Department of Public Health Clinics are holding special afternoon clinic hours for any member of the public to drop in.

For businesses who want to get their staff immunized, the Adult Immunization & Travel Clinic is making nurses and vaccine available directly at the worksite. Any business wanting to make arrangements for a visiting nurse to vaccinate their workers should contact the AITC at  415-554-2532, or go to the business website at http://sfcdcp.org/aitcbusinesses.html.

Mitch Katz, MD, Director of Health, reinforced the safety and reliability of the vaccine. “This vaccine is manufactured in the very same way as the seasonal flu vaccine. It has proven itself to be safe and effective all over the world. Getting the vaccine now will protect everyone from what could be the next flu wave. We’re making it easy to beat the wave.”

To find out where to get a free or low-cost H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine in your San Francisco neighborhood, call 3-1-1 or go to www.sfcdcp.org/flu.