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On Thursday, Nov. 19, Tanner Health System announced plans for three dates and locations for H1N1 vaccine distribution. At that time, plans were set to administer the vaccines at a nominal fee, to help cover the costs related to staffing.
Tanner Health System has since decided to offer H1N1 vaccines to target populations at no cost at the vaccination centers to ensure that many more area residents who need the vaccine will have access to it.
“At this point, we have chosen to absorb the administration costs ourselves,” said Loy Howard, president and CEO of Tanner Health System. “We don’t feel that a fee – even a modest one – should prevent someone in these high-risk groups from having access to this vaccine.”
At this time, the H1N1 vaccine will be provided to target populations only – those who are at an increased risk for contracting the H1N1 flu and those who would be most likely to suffer complications were they to come down with the virus.
Tanner is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for distributing the H1N1 flu vaccine. Only those in the following groups will be able to receive the vaccine:
- Pregnant women
- Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age
- Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel
- All people from 6 months through 24 years of age
- Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza
Persons with chronic medical conditions that pose a higher risk for influenza-related complications include chronic pulmonary conditions (including asthma); cardiovascular disease (excluding high blood pressure); renal, hepatic, cognitive, neurologic/neuromuscular, hematologic or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus); and immunosuppression (including immunosuppression caused by medications or by the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV).
“It is very important that the H1N1 vaccine be given to those who need it most,” said Laura Larson, MD, board-certified in infectious diseases with Infectious Diseases of West Georgia and medical director of infection prevention for Tanner Health System. “At Tanner, we are following the CDC’s guidance for the distribution of H1N1 vaccine, by vaccinating groups who have been hit the hardest by H1N1 infection.”
The vaccination centers will be located at:
Tanner Occupational Health Center
802 Dixie Street
Carrollton, Ga., 30117
Monday, Nov. 23 from 5 to 8 p.m.
(Located across from Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton)
Tanner Professional Building
611 North Avenue
Villa Rica, Ga., 30180
Tuesday, Nov. 24 from 3 to 8 p.m.
(Located near Tanner Medical Center/Villa Rica)
Higgins General Hospital
200 Allen Memorial Drive
Bremen, Ga., 30110
Wednesday, Dec. 2 from 4 to 7 p.m.
(In Conference Room B, located just inside the hospital from the parking lot along Carrollton Street)
Directional signage and support staff will be available at each location. These locations will not be providing seasonal flu or treatment for people with influenza like symptoms. Those with influenza like symptoms should not go to these vaccination centers.
Though doses of the vaccine were provided to Tanner at no cost by the United States Department for Health and Human Services, the system has incurred costs in storing the vaccine, organizing and staffing these centers. The cost of the vaccine would have been covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance plans, but may have still been prohibitive to many other area residents.
“Tanner’s mission is to improve the general health of the community,” said Howard. “To the target populations for whom this vaccine is available, catching the H1N1 flu virus is vitally important. By offering the vaccine at no charge to the community and absorbing the administrative costs of the vaccination centers ourselves, we anticipate that many more people who truly need this vaccine will take advantage of these centers.”
Georgia continues to report widespread influenza activity. Since Aug. 30, more than 450 hospitalizations and 34 deaths have been reported in Georgia due to seasonal and H1N1 influenza.
More information is online at www.tanner.org/h1n1.
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