FORT PIERCE — At least 3,500 free doses of H1N1 flu shots will be available in St. Lucie County Saturday as the health department runs its third Vaccination Station from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at the county’s Logistical Center located at 3855 S. U.S. 1.
Children under 10 years need a second vaccination to ensure maximum protection from the swine flu virus 21 to 28 days after the first, according to the St. Lucie County Health Department. For more information, visit www.stluciecountyhealth.com/ or call 1-877-FLA-FLU1.

Martin County residents at greater risk to catch swine flu or have complications from it can get vaccinated against the H1N1 virus Saturday at the city of Stuart Fire Rescue Department, 800 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Martin County Health Department officials will administer the H1N1 vaccine from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or until the supply is gone.

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ST. LUCIE COUNTY — St. Lucie County Health Department’s second vaccination station is Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (or until vaccine supplies are exhausted) at the St. Lucie County Logistics Center, 3855 S. U.S. 1 in Fort Pierce.

A third vaccination station will be Nov. 21 at the same location and time. (more…)

A St. Lucie County man died Monday after being diagnosed with the H1N1 flu virus, St. Lucie County Health Department officials announced today.

The 53-year-old man is the fifth St. Lucie County resident to die after being diagnosed with swine flu, the unique flu strain first identified in April and now widespread throughout Florida and the United States. Most cases of H1N1, which health officials estimate are responsible now for the vast majority of flu-like illnesses, are mild, but people with underlying health conditions are more at risk for complications from the virus.

Health department officials did not release the man’s name, but said he had underlying medical conditions.

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Aubrey Opdyke talks with the media just after being released Sept. 29 from Kindred Hospital in Riviera Beach while her husband, Bryan Opdyke, stands behind her.

By Eve Samples

MARTIN COUNTY — I tend to encounter two kinds of people in this line of work:

Those who don’t mind seeing their names and stories in print; and those who prefer to keep the private details of their lives, well, private.

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FORT PIERCE — Thousands of St. Lucie County residents waited in two-hour-long lines Saturday morning for the county’s first round of free H1N1 vaccinations.

The clinic was scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the St. Lucie County Logistics Center for those who fell within the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s high-risk priority groups. But early on, the St. Lucie County Health Department determined it reached its capacity of 2,500 vaccine recepients, which included a 1,000-person line that snaked around the outside of the building, and closed the parking lot by 10:15 a.m.

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PORT ST. LUCIE — Prevention, not treatment, of swine flu is what people should be thinking about now, according to the health officials and doctors who spoke Thursday at a town hall meeting about the H1N1 virus.

A couple dozen people showed up at Port St. Lucie’s Civic Center, most with questions and many armed with antibacterial sanitizing gels. Concerns about the severity of the H1N1 virus as well as side effects of the vaccine expected to be distributed beginning next month dominated the question and answer session. (more…)

A young adult has become the first person confirmed to have died from the H1N1 swine flu virus in St. Lucie County, according to county health department officials.

The department did not release any information about the age, gender, location or date of death of the victim except to say that it was a young adult with underlying health problems, said health department public information officer Arlease Hall.

More information will be released after the family has been given a chance to grieve, she said.

So far five people have died from the swine flu virus in Palm Beach County.

PORT ST. LUCIE — City officials sent hand-delivered letters to inform the parents or guardians of 280 campers that an individual at one of the city’s six day camps was diagnosed with a “suspected” case of swine flu.

“Because the case has not yet been confirmed, the city has determined that the camp remain open and maintain the same hours,” according to a city press release.

The city is enhancing its cleaning and disinfecting procedures along with educating staff on the symptoms of the swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus.

The city is working with the St. Lucie County Health Department to monitor the situation, city spokeswoman Rita Hart said. Hart said the city would not disclose which camp the individual participated in or whether the affected person was a child or staff worker, due to privacy concerns, Hart said. (more…)

By ELLIOT JONES
Tcpalm.com

VERO BEACH — There are now 65 confirmed swine flu cases in Indian River County, the latest being an unidentified youth age 18 or younger, health officials said Friday.

The child is not among the four confirmed swine flu cases recently reported at the Life For Youth Camp, a day and residential youth camp attended by hundreds of youths each week, said Miranda Swanson, director, Indian River County Health Department. Three are from Indian River County. The fourth was confirmed to have the swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, on Friday but the person had returned to a home out of the county so the case isn’t included in the Indian River County total.

Health Department officials visited the camp, off 82nd Avenue, on Friday to ask for information on who has become sick and when. And the department provided a health advisory the camp is to hand out to campers, Swanson said. (more…)