The Township will be scheduling more H1N1 clinics in January 2010, Health Officer Robert Roe told the Township Committee at a public meeting on December 1. The follow-up clinics would be held mostly to administer booster shots to children under age nine.

That announcement came during a meeting of the Board of Health held within the Township Committee meeting on Tuesday night. Roe updated the Committee members on the progress of the department's H1N1 vaccination clinics thus far and plans for the future.

Roe reported that about 1,100 people received H1N1 vaccinations during the three Town clinics in November. He anticipated that another 490 would be vaccinated on December 6 during a clinic providing flu mist vaccinations only, and another 490 would be vaccinated with injectables at the December 13 clinic. The Town had also distributed thousands of doses to local pediatricians.

As of Tuesday night, Roe said he still had approximately 100 slots available for the Sunday, December 6 flu mist clinic. Pre-registration for the December 13 injectables clinic would begin on Monday, December 7. 

Roe said that the Health Department would probably schedule a couple of clinics in January primarily because a number of children under age nine who have received the first dose of the vaccine still need the follow-up booster.

Roe also reported that the Town had received a portion of the $25,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Health to cover the cost of the clinics. He anticipated that the Town would receive the remainder of the grant money after the proper paperwork had been filed in the new year. Responding to a question from Committeewoman Kathy Leventhal, Roe said that the Health Department was on target with respect to budget for the clinics and that the grant would adequately cover the costs.

Roe also mentioned that the Health Department had received a $2,500 grant from the state to update their computer system.

Returning to the topic of H1N1, Roe said that "one of the challenges of this epidemic is that there are different types of flu vaccine and they are recommended for different" audiences.

Roe also thanked the medical staff that had helped out with the clinics, saying they had done an outstanding job.