Dane County Announces Two-Day Mass Flu Inoculations in Madison

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On Friday, Public Health Madison and Dane County said there will be two vaccination clinics next week, each targeting a different group of people.

Dr. Thomas Schlenker, director of Public Health Madison and Dane County, said that each day they’ll be giving out approximately 5,000 vaccines. Both clinics will be held at the Alliant Energy Center.

“The gates will open a half hour before the clinic starts,” Schlenker said. “There will be no camping out overnight or lining up — the gates will open a half hour before they start.”

The first clinic is set for Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. That clinic will be for: pregnant women; children 6 months to 23 months old; and children 5 to 18 years old, with underlying health conditions.

The second clinic will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Wednesday clinic will be for: children 24 to 59 months old; people who live with children less than 6 months old; and child care providers who care for children less than 6 months old.

These clinics are the first since public health officials stopped the school-based clinics because of lack of vaccine supply.

People will be definitely turned away if they do not fit the criteria of either groups, or if they live in other counties.

Most of the flu-struck were originally from Milwaukee, and were schoolchildren. However, that situation quickly changed as the summer merged into fall. Last week, a Dane County resident who was in her mid-sixties and had an underlying condition–lupus–died of H1N1. To date, 22 million Americans have been stricken, but 4,000 have died from H1N1, and of these, 540 have been children.

I’ve added a widget at the top of this page that will lead readers to updated information regarding the flu pandemic in Wisconsin. Take advantage of it, and of this mass inoculation coming up. Here is a link about what to expect at the Alliant Center, and how to download consent forms in English, Spanish, and Hmong ahead of time.