Ventura, CA. - October 13, 2009 - Children up to 18 years of age will now be eligible to receive the novel H1N1 2009 vaccine. The H1N1 Vaccine became available last week in Ventura County in the form of the Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (LAIV): the H1N1 FluMist. The other vaccine, the injectable form, is expected to arrive this week or next. “The response so far has been good with some physicians calling for more vaccine and others still moving through their inventory,” said Dr. Robert Levin, Ventura County Public Health Officer. “Other clinics designated to receive the FluMist are still waiting for their vaccine to arrive.”

Those who will be given priority in receiving the vaccine over the next few days, until injectable vaccine arrives, are these targeted groups: all children from the ages of 2 years to 18 years of age (an increase from the 10 years of age limit last week) and healthy, non-pregnant household contacts (2-49 years) of infants under 6 months of age. “We want to expand those groups of people eligible to receive the vaccine as quickly as we can. That’s why we’re raising the age of eligibility to 18 years of age,” said Dr. Levin.

When sufficient supplies of swine flu vaccine become available over the next few weeks, groups permitted to receive the vaccine will expand to include: children from 6 months to 24 years of age, pregnant women, household contacts of children under 6 months of age, health care workers and emergency medical personnel and those with high risk medical conditions up to 65 years of age. People not included in these groups have been shown to be at very low risk for serious illness from the H1N1 virus.

Call your physician’s office for vaccine availability. The novel H1N1 (swine) vaccine is available for county residents only and is available at Ventura County Health Care Agency Public Health Clinics. The Public Health Department recommends that anyone with questions about the H1N1 virus, as well as the vaccine or where they can receive it, should visit the Public Health website at: www.vchca.org/ph. Residents are encouraged to call 2-1-1, or the Public Health H1N1 Hotline, at 981-5390 with any questions.