Ventura, CA - Dr. Robert Levin, Public Health Officer for Ventura County Public Health, today expanded the list of eligible people for the H1N1 vaccine, to include all law enforcement personnel, and all people 65-years of age and older, whether healthy or high risk. Previously the vaccine has been available to the following targeted groups: children and young adults from the ages of 6 months to 24 years of age; all caretakers and household contacts of infants under 6 months of age; pregnant women; people 25 – 64 years of age with serious health conditions, such as lung disease, asthma and diabetes; and health care workers and medical first responders who have patient contact.

“We are pleased to expand the group of people eligible to receive the vaccine because we are seeing an increase in vaccine supplies and a decrease in the length of the lines of people waiting to be vaccinated,” said Dr. Levin, who attributed the decrease in demand to the receipt of the vaccine by many of the county’s physicians and clinics and to Public Health’s efforts in reaching the community with targeted community flu clinics, as well as expanded hours in Public Health clinics.

“There have been approximately 70 million available doses in the U.S. to date, out of a projected 150 million doses that will eventually be distributed,” said Dr. Levin. “With nearly half the population recommended to be vaccinated having done so, I feel confident that expanding the current list to include these two very important segments of our population – first responders and seniors – is a logical and necessary move.”

In a sampling of county clinics, a Camarillo medical office noted that they have “much vaccine on hand with a decrease in demand.” Additionally, clinics in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks have reported the same. Visits to doctors for influenza-like symptoms, both nationally and locally over the past few weeks, has been tapering off. Dr. Levin stressed that as we move into the annual seasonal flu season at the end of this month, it is likely we will see a spike in H1N1 as well, a third wave of the pandemic, and people should not become complacent about getting immunized. “We know that 9 out of 10 people who wanted to be vaccinated against H1N1 but didn’t receive the vaccine earlier, said they would try again. Now is a good time for these two important groups to get their vaccinations, as the vaccine is increasingly available,” added Dr. Levin.

For more information on H1N1, visit the Public Health website at: www.vchca.org/ph.