The Louisiana Department of Public Health has designated Lafayette-based Stafford Healthcare Clinics a mass immunizer for H1N1, making it the recipient of the largest shipment of H1N1 vaccines in Acadiana. The CDC and Louisiana Office of Public Health have stipulated that the supply be used for high risk groups; the vaccine will be administered this Saturday, Nov. 14, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Stafford Walk In Clinic at 207 Westmark Blvd.
The vaccine will be offered on a daily basis beginning Monday, Nov. 16; the clinic has already received several thousand doses and has been assured additional vaccines will continue to arrive as needed. The cost of the vaccine is $15.
The high risk groups currently eligible for the vaccine include:
Î household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months;
Î health care and emergency medical services personnel;
Î all people age 2 to 24; and
Î people age 25-64 who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.
Additional high risk groups, including pregnant women and children 6 months to 2 years old, are not eligible for the vaccine from Stafford at this time and should continue to seek vaccination through their medical providers or the Department of Public Health.
According to Dr. John W. Stafford, medical director of Stafford HealthCare Clinics, on site vaccinations for area businesses will begin once the CDC opens immunizations for H1N1 to the general population. For more information, contact Stafford Healthcare Clinics at 984-1346 or 981-6811.