DHSS Press Release |
Date: November 15, 2004 DHSS-128-2004 |
| Vincent P. Meconi, Secretary Allison Taylor Levine, Communication Director (302) 255-9037, Pager (302) 247-8523 |
Contact: Heidi Truschel-Light Phone: (302) 744-4907 Pager: (302) 247-1560 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KENT AND SUSSEX FLU VACCINATION APPOINTMENTS FILLED
Delawareans Asked to Stop Calling Today; New Castle County Residents Should Call Tomorrow
As of 12:20 p.m. today, Delaware's Division of Public Health (DPH) filled the 3,400 flu vaccination appointments reserved for Kent and Sussex County residents. New Castle County residents should call tomorrow for the remaining 4,250 flu vaccination appointments.
New Castle County residents should call 800-282-8672 on Nov. 16, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Residents will be scheduled for appointments on Nov. 19 at New Castle County clinics. Callers may get busy signals and should keep trying.
Residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities will receive vaccine directly through their facilities and do not need to call to register. Individuals assigned to Dover Air Force Base will receive shots at the base's clinic.
DPH is operating a call center at the DPH Emergency Preparedness Training Room in the Blue Hen Corporate Center. By noon today, the call center received 2,472 calls and answered 97.4 percent of them. DPH staff logged 65 as hang-ups.
To receive an influenza vaccination appointment, callers must live or attend school in Delaware and be:
- Age 65 or older;
- Age 9-64 with underlying chronic health conditions;
- Women who will be pregnant during the influenza season, which is October 2004-February 2005; or
- Age 9-18 years and on chronic aspirin therapy.
Callers should be prepared with:
- pen and paper to write down assigned appointment times, clinic location, and appointment number;
- an answer to the operators' question as to whether they live or go to school in Delaware;
- which risk criteria they meet;
- ZIP code, full name, daytime phone number, and year of birth.
When attending the Nov. 19 clinic, individuals must bring identification, proof that they live or attend school in Delaware, and their Medicare card, if applicable.
To date, DPH has received a total of 7,650 doses of flu vaccine, which will be distributed at the Nov. 19 clinics. The portions reserved for each county - 16 percent in Kent County, 30 percent for Sussex County, and 54 percent for New Castle County - were based on the county's population of residents age 65 and older. An additional 34,000 doses are scheduled to be delivered to DPH within the next few weeks. A plan for distributing those doses is not yet final, but DPH will announce that information as soon as it is available.
Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.
