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3 Colo. Counties Give H1N1 Vaccine To Everyone
Weld, El Paso, Pueblo Offering Swine Flu Vaccine To All Despite State Guidelines
POSTED: 8:08 am MST December 4, 2009
UPDATED: 7:37 am MST December 5, 2009
GREELEY, Colo. -- Three Colorado counties are now offering the H1N1 vaccine to anyone who wants it, despite state guidelines that dictate the doses go to those in the high risk groups.El Paso, Pueblo and Weld counties are offering the vaccine to all because supplies of the vaccine are increasing. Officials in those counties also believe they're meeting the needs of target populations, which include pregnant women, young children and medical workers.The state department of health said it won't change its guidelines just yet, because Boulder and Denver counties say they're still struggling to meet the demand of high risk groups.
Weld County said it couldn't sit on its excess doses and wait for the state because common sense dictated they open it up."What I don't want to see is another large wave come around that we haven't helped to blunt or make smaller," said Weld County Department of Health and Environment executive director Dr. Mark Wallace.Weld County served about 2,000 people at the clinic Thursday night.They were moving people in and out in about three minutes.There is a clinic open to all Saturday in El Paso County.Two more clinics in Weld County are scheduled for next Saturday and the Saturday before Christmas.So far the state health department has distributed 1 million of the 4 million vaccine doses allotted to Colorado.
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