Swine flu death toll climbs to 19
| Tuesday, Dec 08 2009 01:28 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Dec 08 2009 01:30 PM
The Kern County death toll from the H1N1 virus grew by two in the last weekly reporting period to a total of 19, the county Department of Public Health reported Tuesday.
One person died from the also-called swine flu while a previous death counted as "all flu" was reclassified as from H1N1.
There were four H1N1 additional hospitalizations reported during the period, from Nov. 29-Dec. 5. That brings the total to 185.
The new H1N1-related death was of a 55-year-old female with an underlying health condition, said Public Health spokeswoman Kim Rodriguez. All she knew about the reclassified death was that it involved a woman older than 50.
Rodriguez did not know when the latter woman died.
So far there have been no non-H1N1 flu deaths reported in Kern County. There have been 15 non-H1N1 flu hospitalizations reported, according to Public Health.
The non-H1N1 flus include Influenza A (H1) Seasonal, Influenza A (H3) Seasonal, Influenza A-no subtyping and Influenza B.
County public health officials announced Monday they are changing course and will make the H1N1 swine flu vaccine available to the general public at their free vaccination clinics.
The decision was made after Public Health ended up with more H1N1 vaccine than it was giving out at its free clinics.
Upcoming clinics are scheduled at the following locations:
* Delano: Wednesday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., La Vina Middle School gymnasium, 1331 Browning Road.
* Ridgecrest, Thursday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Las Flores Elementary School cafeteria, 720 West Las Flores Ave.
* Taft: Thursday, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Westside Recreation and Park District auditorium, 500 Cascade Place.
* Lamont: Friday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lamont Boys and Girls Club, 8301 Segrue Road.
* Bakersfield: Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon, Bakersfield Adult School, 501 South Mount Vernon Ave.
* Tehachapi: Dec. 14, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Tehachapi Veterans Hall, 125 E. "F" St.
* Frazier Park: Dec. 15, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Glendale Trail & Park Drive.
* Weldon: Dec. 15, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., United Methodist Church social hall.
