Public Health expands flu shot eligibility for King County residents

KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - Today, Public Health - Seattle & King County is expanding the list of at-risk people who should receive a flu shot this year to include, among others, anybody at least 50 years of age and people living with those in high-risk groups. Public Health is also revoking the health order from October that restricts who may receive a flu shot.

“We are expanding the vaccination recommendations to the traditional high risk groups,” said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director and Health Officer of Public Health - Seattle & King County. “For those in a high-risk group, this is an excellent time to get vaccinated for the flu. It’s still early in the flu season, and influenza typically doesn’t peak until February.”

In early October and given the vaccine shortage, Public Health issued a health order consistent with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommendations of who should receive a flu shot this flu season. Through continued surveying of health care providers and others who offer flu shots, Public Health has found that supply and demand are at a point where more people can be given access to flu vaccine.

Public Health is distributing over 60,000 doses of flu vaccine, 38,000 of which came from the national distribution of the last remaining vaccine. Vaccine will be delivered to King County through January. Vaccine is being distributed to: nursing homes and long-term care facilities; health organizations that hold public flu clinics; medical organizations including hospitals and physician practices; safety net providers, including community and public health clinics; and hospitals, for health-care workers seeing high-risk patients.

“We are still asking anybody who does not fall into one of the high-risk groups to step aside,” said Plough.

Public Health recommends that the following groups receive a flu shot:

all children aged 6 to 23 months

adults aged 50 years and older

persons aged 2 to 64 years with underlying chronic medical conditions

all women who will be pregnant during the influenza season

residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities

children aged 6 months to 18 years on chronic aspirin therapy

health-care workers involved in direct patient care

out-of-home caregivers and household contacts of children less than six months of age

household contacts of persons in high-risk groups

Public Health recommends that at-risk adults first call their personal health care providers to see whether they have vaccine. If their personal health care providers do not have vaccine, individuals may get information on public flu shot clinics by calling Public Health’s Flu Hotline at 206-296-1100.

Also, individuals may call or visit the web sites of two health organizations offering flu shots in different parts of King County:

GetAFluShot.com: call 1-888-536-6900 or GetAFluShot.com

PreventionMD: call 425-739-0700 or 1-800-346-4915 or PreventionMD.com

Certain healthy individuals 5-49 years of age may consider the FluMist. Check with your health care provider or local pharmacy about how to get the FluMist vaccine. For a list of places with FluMist, visit: www.metrokc.gov/health/immunization/flumist.htm.

Visit Public Health flu season web pages at www.metrokc.gov/health/immunization/fluseason.htm for complete and updated information on the flu season, the high-risk groups that are eligible for the flu shot this flu season, information on FluMist (intranasal vaccine for certain healthy individuals) and where to access FluMist, and other ways to stay healthy during the flu season, such as by washing hands and covering coughs.

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