H1N1 vaccination increasingly available in Columbia

COLUMBIA — More Boone County residents can now get H1N1 vaccines on a walk-in basis.

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services has received more shipments of the vaccines, allowing them to extend the walk-in vaccination hours for broad priority groups to 8 a.m. until 4.30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the health department clinic.

The clinic is closed on Thanksgiving Day.

The health department has more nurses who can handle more people this week, Geni Alexander, spokeswoman for the Health Department, said.

Last week, the walk-in clinic was open on Wednesday from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. That week, 523 people received H1N1 vaccinations, Alexander said.

The new shipment includes nasal spray vaccine, or FluMist, and preservative-free injectable vaccine. FluMist was not available at last week's clinic.

The broad priority groups include:

• Pregnant women
• People who live with or care for infants younger than 6 months old

• Children and adults ages 6 months to 24 years
• Adults ages 25 through 64 years with chronic illnesses
• All health care and EMS workers

Columbia College has scheduled an H1N1 vaccination clinic December 3. It will run from 10 a.m. until noon. The clinic will be open to staff and faculty as well as students, said Diane Ketter, health services coordinator with Columbia College.

The college had made available 300 H1N1 vaccines to students. One-hundred and forty-six students have already received them, Ketter said.

Stephens College does not plan to hold any more H1N1 clinics, said Brenda McSherry, director of the health services at the college.