Oologah Meningitis Clinic Held Friday, Canceled Saturday

By Jeffrey Smith and NewsOn6.com

OOLOGAH, OK -- A meningitis clinic to vaccinate students and staff from the Oologah-Talala School District was held Friday, but has been canceled for Saturday.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health and Rogers County Department of Health decided to cancel the second clinic that had been scheduled for Saturday due to the severe weather forecast.

The vaccination clinic was at the Oologah-Talala Lower Elementary School.

The clinic was designated only for students pre-K through seniors attending Oologah-Talala public schools, as well as district faculty and employees.

"Four hundred and sixty-one doses of vaccine were distributed in the first hour," stated Dr. Kristy Bradley, state epidemiologist.

The clinic vaccinated 1,060 people before closing Friday night at 7.

For those who must wait, a public health nurse will be available Monday through Friday, March 22 through March 26, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., at the Omni Medical Clinic at 13134 Old S. Hwy 169 in Oologah.

3/16/2010 Related Story: Meningitis Vaccination Clinic To Be Held At Oologah Lower Elementary School

There was no charge for the vaccine.

Children who previously received antibiotics for disease prevention in the past week are still recommended to get the vaccine.

"We thought it was best to go ahead and get their vaccinations, just to be on the safe side," said Mitch Inman, an Oologah parent.

Inman's three young kids go to Oologah schools. They received the antibiotics last week and wanted to get the vaccine for long-term protection. Inman says the one thing that scares him is that the origin of the bacteria will, likely, never be found.

"I'm not worried about it too much. I think I understand how it's transmitted, and the health department says it doesn't live very long on surfaces, and they've been cleaning the school, and sanitizing everything, so I'm not worried about it at all," said Inman.

It's a sentiment shared by Inman's son, and other students.

"I'm not nervous, I think we're handling it well," said Noah Inman, a 6th grader.

"I went through the swine flu coming through, and I wasn't really that worried. And now I've got the vaccine, so again I'm not really worried, but I am worried for the families who are losing their kids over it," said Brandon Bewley, a high school student.

In addition to the vaccine clinic, representatives from the Oklahoma State Department of Health and local health department staff were on hand in the Upper Elementary Gymnasium to answer questions from the public and provide information materials on meningococcal disease.

For more information concerning vaccine clinics, please call the Rogers County Health Department at (918) 341-3166.

During Friday's vaccination clinic, a meningitis support group was there to give support to the Oologah community.

Meningitis Angels is a national organization that offers support to families who've had a loved one die from the disease.

The group presented a $10,000 check to the Saint John Medical Center Foundation. The donation will help provide the meningitis vaccine to uninsured patients.

"One of the things that some people don't get immunizations for is the cost of those immunizations, and a donation like this definitely would make the vaccine available to those people who don't have the funds. And in a bad economic time, that's definitely going to help," said Dr. James Stauffer, ONMI Medical Group.

The meningitis vaccine usually costs more than $100.

3/13/2010  Related Story: Founder Of Meningitis Angels: Oologah Families Are Not Alone