Public health clinics in San Diego county saw a dramatic upswing in patients last week. This followed the announcement that swine flu vaccine would be available to everyone.
The county health department announced last Monday that local medical providers would administer vaccines to all people, not just those in high-risk groups. The following day nearly 1,700 people sought swine flu vaccinations at county public health clinics, compared to fewer than 400 the Tuesday before.
Wilma Wooten is the San Diego public health officer. She said everyone can get a shot now because fewer high-risk people were seeking inoculations and the vaccine supply has increased.
"Our primary goal has been, and is, to vaccinate as many people as possible," she said. "But that was limited early on due to the fact that we had limited supplies of vaccine."
Private clinics are also providing H1N1 vaccinations to everyone now.
