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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: October 3, 2000 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~~ <br />SUBJECT: Senior Vaccination Season Proclamation <br />DEPARTMENT: Health PUBLIC HEARING: (Y1N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Proclamation <br />Calendar of Activities <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Rosemary Summers, ext 2411 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To consider proclaiming October and November as Senior Vaccination Season. <br />BACKGROUNDF The Governor has proclaimed October as Senior Vaccination Season in <br />North Carolina. However, due to influenza vaccine unavailability, this year the Health <br />Department is asking for both October and November to be designated as Senior Vaccination <br />Season in Orange County. The Health Department along with other community partners such <br />as Kerr Drug, local churches, and the Department on Aging have planned a number of <br />community vaccination sites beginning in November. This year the.Health Department is <br />especially encouraging those over 65 years of age to be immunized against influenza AND <br />pneumonia. Other high risk groups are also strongly encouraged to be immunized. Pneumonia <br />vaccination only requires one shot for immunity, rather than a yearly vaccination. It is only <br />given to those over 65 years of age. <br />Orange County is the recipient of a small pilot project sponsored by the North Carolina Senior <br />Vaccination Season Coalition this year. A video produced by the Department of Health and <br />Human Services to encourage African-American elders to receive vaccinations, is being sent to <br />all African-American churches in the county in late September or early October. In addition, <br />they will receive a schedule of vaccination sites in Orange County. Upon request, the health <br />department will provide vaccinations on-site at these churches that have more than 15 elders <br />wishing to receive vaccinations. <br />Orange County's 1998 county-wide immunization rate for influenza for 65 and over was 47.9%, <br />based on the number of Medicare beneficiaries. Only 26.7% of the African-American <br />beneficiaries were vaccinated in 1998. Pneumococcal immunization rates for the period 1991 <br />through 1998 were quite low at 28.3% overall and 15.3% for African-American beneficiaries. In <br />1999 the health department provided 1610 influenza vaccinations. <br />