GALLIPOLIS — The Gallia County Health Department recently announced that they have run out of the adult seasonal flu vaccine and have canceled all scheduled satellite flu clinics, though the H1N1 vaccine is expected to arrive soon.

Melissa Conkle, director of nursing at the health department, said the agency pre-ordered 5,400 doses of the seasonal flu vaccine; however only 2,900 doses were delivered. All 2,900 doses were then administered in less than a week, the majority during the first three days.

Conkle said the health department only received about one-third of the seasonal vaccines requested from the Ohio Department of Health, which is also experiencing a shortage, so they had to order through private purchase, a more costly method.

“We take pride in our seasonal flu vaccine clinics. (Flu vaccines) are something we like to provide for the county at no cost,” she said. “Twenty-nine hundred is good, but it’s not as many as we wanted to administer.”

Last year, 5,214 flu vaccines were administered to county residents by the health department.

Conkle added that Gallia County is on a number of waiting lists, though distributors have reported that they do anticipate any more deliveries of adult seasonal flu vaccines at this time.

One more shipment of the pediatric seasonal flu vaccine for children ages six months to 18 years is expected to arrive at the health department sometime this week as is the first shipment of the H1N1 vaccine. The first delivery of the H1N1 vaccine will be in the form of the flu mist, a nasal spray available only for healthy people ages two to 49.

The health department does not know exactly when the vaccines will be delivered, but the state recently put the agency on alert for shipment as the vaccines must be refrigerated on arrival.

“The sooner we get (the H1N1 vaccine), the better. It’s here and it’s going around,” Conkle said of the virus.

The health department is encouraging residents to take advantage of any opportunity to obtain a seasonal flu vaccine by a doctor or pharmacist. For a fee, CVS Pharmacy administered vaccines to Gallia County residents on Saturday and Wal-Mart is also expected to do the same at the end of this month.

In related news, Ohio Valley Bank is inviting local businesses to participate in a community flu preparedness drill on Tuesday from 8 a.m. to noon. During the drill, select branches of the bank will test safety procedures for advanced flu season. The test will likely involve employees wearing germ masks, extended use of hand sanitizer, and other health and safety precautions.

“As local businesses, we are concerned for our friends and neighbors. That is why, we have made preparations to insure that this flu season doesn’t interfere with the service that they’ve come to expect from us,” commented Jeffrey E. Smith, president and CEO of OVB.