FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 12, 2005

MORE FLU VACCINE ARRIVES IN WESTCHESTER

Health Department Ggives 3,500 Ddoses of Fflu Vvaccine to Hhealth Ccare Pproviders for High-Risk Patients

Still need a flu shot? You may be in luck! The Westchester County Department of Health has just received an additional 3,500 doses of flu vaccine and is directly giving them to over 100 physicians countywide to immunize their high-risk patients against the flu. No additional community flu clinics are being scheduled through the Health Department at this time.

In addition to these 3,500 doses, the Health Department has distributed over 22,000 doses of flu vaccine to other health care providers including hospitals, neighborhood health centers, home care agencies, and adult and residential facilities.

“Most people get their annual flu shots from their health care providers. When we learned we would receive 3,500 additional doses of flu vaccine from New York State, we surveyed the County’s private physicians to find out if they still needed flu vaccine for their high-risk patients,” said Dr. Joshua Lipsman, Commissioner of Health for Westchester County. “We received responses from 112 physicians. During the rest of this week, physicians will be coming to the health department to pick up flu vaccine for their high-risk patients,” continued Dr. Lipsman. “We are delighted that we are able to provide this vaccine for their patients.”

At this time, vaccine will only be administered to residents who are at high-risk, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control, for serious complications from the flu. They are as follows:

ü Patients aged 65 years and older

ü Patients with underlying long-term medical conditions

ü Patients who will be pregnant during the flu season

ü Health care workers with direct patient contact

ü Children between the ages of 6 months and 23 months

ü Household contacts of infants less than 6 months of age

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Residents still seeking flu vaccination should contact their private physicians to determine whether flu vaccine is available from them. As the flu season has not yet peaked, it is not too late to receive a flu vaccine. Should additional vaccine become available or the administration criteria change, the Health Department will make that information available on its Flu Hotline, 813-5609, and on its website, www.westchestergov.com/health. ~~As the flu season has not yet peaked, it is not too late to receive a flu vaccine.~~

The Westchester County Health Department is continuing to work with other agencies to locate additional supplies of vaccine. In the meantime, those who are not able to receive vaccination at this time are advised to engage in behavioral practices helpful in preventing the spread of flu.

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These practices can be summarized in “Four C’s”:

1. Contact: Avoid close contact with people who are sick. If you are sick, keep your distance from

others to prevent them from getting sick. Equally important is avoiding contact with your eyes, nose and mouth since the virus spreads by entering the mucous membranes in these areas.

2. Contain: If you are sick, stay home from work, school or public areas. By doing so, you will help to prevent others from getting sick.

3. Cover: Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you sneeze or cough to protect others from getting sick. Since you may be contagious even before you realize you are sick, it is important to make this habit routine.

4. Clean: Clean your hands in hot soapy water often. Hand washing is one of the most effective, yet overlooked ways of preventing the spread of illness.

All these steps are simple and effective, but hand washing is of the utmost importance. Through its W.A.S.H. Up Westchester Campaign initiated last summer, the Westchester County Health Department helps spread the word about the effectiveness of hand washing in protecting against influenza and other communicable diseases.

“I encourage individuals, workplaces, schools, and other agencies to join our campaign. Visit our website, www.westchestergov.com/health to download our Handwashing Kit and get started!” Dr. Lipsman said.

The correct way to wash your hands is as follows:

1) First wet your hands and apply liquid or clean bar soap. Keep the bar soap on a rack that allows it to drain.

2) Next rub your hands vigorously together and scrub all surfaces.

3) Continue for 20 seconds. Tell kids to wash as long as it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice. It is soap combined with the scrubbing action that helps dislodge and remove germs.

4) Rinse well and dry your hands.

Up-to-date information on flu vaccine availability will continue to be made available through the Health Department’s 24-hour Flu Information Line at 813-5609 and the Health Department’s website, www.westchestergov/health.

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