Iron County changes flu-shot clinic dates

By RICHARD JENKINS

rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com

Hurley — A delay in the shipping of the vaccine means the Iron County Health Department is delaying one of its planned drive-thru flu vaccine clincs, the health department announced Friday.

“The health department’s vaccine suppliers have notified the department that there are plenty of vaccines and there will not be a shortage this year, but shipments have been delayed until Sept. 30,” a department spokesperson said in the announcement. “Therefore, there will be a change to the upcoming flu vaccine clinic schedule.”

Although the planned event on Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Mercer Community Center is proceeding as scheduled, according to the announcement, a clinic that had been planned for Wednesday in Hurley has been moved to October.

The rescheduled event will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 7 at the Iron County Highway Garage.

The department already distributed 70 influenza vaccines at a previous drive-thru clinic held Sept. 15 in Hurley.

Department officials are also planning additional events in October and will announce those dates as they become available.

Health department officials are encouraging residents to get their flu shots as the department works to avoid a “twindemic” of both influenza and COVID-19.

Iron County has had 136 residents become positive with COVID-19 since the virus was first detected locally in late March. Of those 136 residents, 127 were considered recovered, as of Friday, according to the health department. Six cases have required hospitalization and there have been 1,429 negative tests.

In Michigan, the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department reported a total of 141 positive cases and 12 additional probable cases for Gogebic County Thursday, with only four total cases considered active. The WUPHD reported a total of 41 positive cases and one additional probable in Ontonagon County, with only five of those being considered active.

The counts in both counties were unchanged in the latest update on the state’s coronavirus website Saturday.

WUPHD officials warned there “continues to be a significant amount of cases from Michigan Tech” in Houghton County.

“Other cases have been tied to family connections and small group gatherings,” a post on the WUPHD’s Facebook page reads.

Houghton County has had a total of 212 positive cases and 53 additional probables over the course of the pandemic. The county also accounts for a majority of the active cases in the five-county area the health department serves, with 71 of the 85 active positive and probable cases in the region.