H1N1 vaccination racing against time

THE Health Department is working around the clock to ensure that every person is vaccinated against swine flu (H1N1) as the use by date for the vaccine nears.
In the nation’s capital, mobile teams of clinical staff from various urban clinics have been going around to companies upon request to vaccinate staff.
They have also been visiting churches during the weekends and have given the same vaccination to adults in particular during the nationwide supplementary immunisation activity for children that ended last week.
According to the Health Department, the H1N1 vaccines came in eight batches of which three would expire this month and another five next month.
The department is aiming to get at least 10% of the population vaccinated and is encouraging the public to visit their health centres and hospitals to get vaccinated.
Staff of The National had their turn last Friday of which a total of 112 were vaccinated.
Staff members from different departments showed up to get vaccinated.
Community health workers Nina Iange and David Inno from the Tokarara Adventist clinic said they were impressed with the turn out.
Iange and Inno told The National that apart from giving out the H1N1 vaccine, they had also been conducting general health checks for the working and non-working class.
They said general checks conducted in some government departments and companies revealed that a lot of workers had high blood pressure, hypertension and symptoms of lifestyle diseases.