Minutes - 20041005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Halkiotis said that this is the second year in a row that the private sector has messed up significantly. He said that the Board should go on record and encourage the congressional delegation to look at ways of being self-reliant for vaccines in our own country and not depending on foreign sources. Commissioner Carey said that this is an opportunity for our federal government to step in. Health Director Rosemary Summers said that John Link asked her to talk about flu season during the Manager's comments. She said that she was originally going to show the community vaccination schedule, but this will have to be revised. There are two major manufacturers of the flu vaccine that can make vaccines. Apparently, Chiron had some manufacturing difficulties getting it passed in England and the license was suspended for three months. They are not allowed to release any of the vaccine. The Health Department ordered 4,000 doses and about 3,300 of those were from Chiron. Some of the vaccine form Aventis has come by way of the State Universal Vaccine Program, which means that it is restricted in how it can be used. It must go to children that have high risk factors. This leaves an even smaller number of doses. She said that they always follow CDC guidelines with the vaccinations in that they vaccinate high risk individuals first. These categories are 65+, children who have high risk conditions, and other adults that have high risk conditions. The other group taken into consideration is health care workers and first responders. They are also calling other providers to see who was providing their vaccine and what they might have available. They expect to work with these providers to prioritize high risk individuals. Last year they had some experience with an early outbreak and they worked with private providers to provide vaccinations. Tomorrow they will look at a contingency plan and they will prioritize and look for other sources of vaccine. She said that it was puzzling as to why some manufacturers can distribute in other countries but the FDA will not allow them to be distributed here. She said that there is a reason to be concerned but not to be panicked. People who are not high risk may end up not being able to get the vaccine this year. Chair Jacobs asked about Canada's supply of vaccine and Rosemary Summers said that she did not know about it. Chair Jacobs said that he believes that Wisconsin and Illinois are now authorized to purchase drugs from Canada as states, not by the federal government. He asked Rosemary Summers to contact a Health Director in one of these states to find out if this is a viable option. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the Board also discussed that there are two counties in North Carolina that are exploring opportunities of making drugs available from Canada to their employees. John Link said that the Personnel Director would be following up on this. Commissioner Gordon arrived 7:45 pm. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he asked the Chair for a moment of silence for the passing of Jodi Strickland, Orange County Sheriff's Deputy. He said that he knew her very well. He said that she was the most wonderful Resource Officer that the Orange County Schools have ever had. She was not a rough type, but a caring person interested in protecting children. He said that the children at A. L. Stanback Middle School are heartbroken as well as the Sheriff's Deputies. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to the weigh station on I-85 and that the County recently purchased some property on the same side of the road as the weigh station. Someone else has timbered on the other side of the interstate right up to the interstate. He said that there are supposed to be 100-foot buffers up to the interstate and people are cutting trees down right up to the interstate. He would like an answer at the next meeting from the forestry division about the official legal response to this and if people can timber right up to the interstate. He said that OCS left a 100-foot buffer, as per directions from the Orange County Planning Department and the State, when Cedar Ridge High School was built. The OCS will