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Consider it a holiday gift from the Indiana Department of Health: an H1N1 vaccine for everyone.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Judy Monroe announced Thursday that beginning the week of Dec. 20, pharmacies across the state will provide the H1N1 vaccine to the general public, including adults of any age or health condition.
In the meantime, health officials will focus on vaccinating schoolchildren and college-age Hoosiers before schools and campuses close for the holidays.
Until now, state and local health departments have focused on priority groups considered at higher risk for becoming sick from this strain of the flu or for developing complications.
“I think this will be good news to those in the general public who have been wanting the vaccine,” Monroe said. “I guess there has been some pent-up demand.
“So Merry Christmas or … Happy Holidays.”
The vaccine will be shipped directly to pharmacies in Indiana. Only pharmacies registered with the state to provide vaccinations will participate, but the long list of outlets includes major chains such as Walgreens, CVS and Kroger, Monroe said.
With the holidays approaching, volunteers needed to run mass public clinics will be hard to find, Monroe said.
Also, decreasing demand from priority groups, greater supply of the vaccine and declining cases of flu made now a good time to make the vaccine available to anyone who wants it, she said.
Most pharmacies are open evenings and weekends, offering more flexibility and convenience than the limited hours offered by county health departments or doctors’ offices, according to Monroe.
But people going to a pharmacy will have to pay an administration fee for the pharmacist to inject the vaccine into the arm or spray the vaccine mist into the nose.
The vaccine itself is free, she said.
Legally, pharmacies cannot charge more than the Medicare reimbursement rate of $19.59. Some plan to charge a flat $10 administration fee, Monroe said, and private insurance might also cover the cost of the fee.
Also, under Indiana law, pharmacists cannot vaccinate children younger than 14. As a result, some counties may continue to offer clinics for children and steer adults to retailers, Monroe said.
Details have not been finalized on how to involve pharmacies, state health officials said.
In northeast Indiana, Noble and Steuben counties began offering the vaccine to the general public this week.
Monroe said several small Indiana counties have also made the switch.
Noble County residents of all ages began lining up an hour before Thursday morning’s clinic in Kendallville. Almost 350 people were vaccinated in about two hours, said Mick Newton, the county’s emergency management director.
At recent clinics, the number of people seeking vaccine thinned after the first hour, but traffic held steady throughout the morning. A second three-hour clinic was planned for later in the day in Albion, Newton said.
Monroe estimated that 20 percent of Hoosiers have been vaccinated for the H1N1 flu strain so far. Officials believe about half of all Indiana residents eventually will be vaccinated.
Health officials have a two-week window to vaccinate students on numerous college campuses, as well as students attending elementary, middle and high schools. And to a lesser degree, officials should focus on health care workers, Monroe said.
Fourteen colleges and universities have received doses directly from the state in the past few weeks. And more have asked for the vaccine.
No northeast Indiana campus is part of that group, officials said.
Almost half of all the confirmed H1N1 cases since September were in the 18-to-24 age group.
Health officials and educators worry that students returning to campus in January could spark a third wave of the flu.
