Rutherford County Health Department offering H1N1 vaccine

he Rutherford County Health Department, located at 100 W. Burton St. in Murfreesboro and the Smyrna Clinic located at 108 David Collins Drive, is now offering H1N1 injectable vaccine. No appointment is necessary to receive the vaccine. The H1N1 flu vaccine will be provided at no charge. Those listed below are the priority groups on which Health Department officials want to focus to receive this injectable vaccine. * Pregnant women * Children ages 6 months to 4 years old * Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age * Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel FluMist is also available for individuals ages 2 to 49 who have no medical condition. No shortage of 2009 H1N1 vaccine is expected. However, limited quantities and types of the vaccine come in with each shipment. The Tennessee Department of Health expects to receive enough H1N1 vaccine in coming weeks so anyone who wants to receive it, can do so. The Rutherford County Health Department will continue to announce when vaccine arrives and if there will be an H1N1 clinic. Also, information about upcoming clinics and vaccine availability are on the Tennessee Department of Health Web site at http://health.state.tn.us/H1N1.htm. The Rutherford County Health Department also urges residents to receive the seasonal flu vaccination to prevent illness. The seasonal flu vaccine is particularly recommended for the elderly, young children and people with certain health conditions such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease since they are at high risk for complications from seasonal flu. Call to verify if the Health Department has the seasonal flu vaccine before coming in. For more information about the H1N1 or seasonal flu vaccines, call the Rutherford County Health Department at 615-898-7785 or the Smyrna Clinic at 615-355-6175 or contact the Tennessee Flu Information Line at 1-877-252-3432. Information is also available on the Web at www.tn.gov/health or www.flu.gov.