bvelliquette@heraldsun.com; 419-6632
HILLSBOROUGH -- To make it easier for Orange County residents to make appointments to obtain the H1N1 vaccine, the county has retained an appointment service.
As of Thursday, people wishing to schedule an appointment to obtain the vaccine are being asked to call 1 (888) 252-3001, which is a call center operated by Global Response.
Rather than having people line up and wait for hours to get the vaccine, Orange County has been asking its residents to schedule an appointment. The Health Department was trying to schedule the appointments through its own phone numbers and using its own employees, but people complained that they couldn't get through because the line was often busy, said Wayne Sherman, director of Personal Health Services for the county.
"We decided we needed a bigger operation," Sherman said.
Using federal implementation funds, the county contracted with the professional service. When there are vaccines available, there will be up to 10 phone lines open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The operators at the call center will screen callers according to the Centers for Disease Control priority group guidelines, meaning that not everyone who wants to obtain a vaccine will be able to do so immediately.
"What we're anticipating is as more vaccine is distributed to more communities, they'll expand the list to include everyone," Sherman said.
For now, the priority list includes pregnant women, anyone who cares for an infant six months or younger, healthcare and emergency medical service providers, persons between the ages of six months and 24 years old and people ages 25 through 64 years of age who have medical conditions that could put them at additional risk, such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes.
Callers who are eligible for the vaccine will be offered appointments at the department's Chapel Hill or Hillsborough clinic locations.
When there are no more appointments available, people calling the number will hear a recorded message saying so.
When the vaccine is available and how many people will be eligible for it remains a bit of a mystery even to the staff at the Health Department.
"We may get an e-mail on a Friday afternoon saying to expect them sometime next week," he said.
There's usually no indication what type of vaccine will arrive. It could be 200 pediatric doses or 200 nasal spray doses or 200 adult doses, he said.
Once the Health Department receives a new batch of vaccines, it lets the call center know how many appointments it can make, Sherman said.
So far the Health Department has given out about 2,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, Sherman said.
Global Response is an appointment service only. For medically related questions, the public can call the Health Department's H1N1 nurse at (919) 605-2051 or send an e-mail to flu@co.orange.nc.us.
Currently, half-day H1N1 clinics are being held daily Monday through Friday by appointment. The Health Department hopes there will be about 400 appointments available weekly, with additional appointments becoming available as more vaccine is shipped.
For general information about seasonal and H1N1 flu and updated information about vaccines, visit the Health Department's Web site at www.co.orange.nc.us/health or call the Flu Information line at (919) 245-2479.
