By Monty Torres
The Fresno County Department of Public Health opened the doors to the first of its valley flu clinics Monday.
The goal? To get out and protect as much of the public as possible as quickly as possible with the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines, and in the west valley they had no trouble finding willing recipients.
Down the street, around the corner, stretching for blocks, hundreds lined up at the Mendota Community Center Monday afternoon for a chance to roll up their sleeves and get a shot.
"We are out here with the seasonal flu and the H1N1 clinic for Mendota" confirmed Fresno County Health Educator Clara Escamilla.
Double protection was on tap with free H1N1 vaccines and just $4 for the seasonal flu for young and old, individuals and families, people of all sizes and ages united by one thing; their fear of both flu varieties.
"I haven't really heard too much about it just that it's very deadly," said worried Mendota mother Jessica Diaz.
The same sentiments were expressed at a similar scene just a few hours earlier in Firebaugh were county health workers were met with what they called a "really huge response" to the first clinic offering the highly anticipated H1N1 vaccines.
Health Department officials say they are very committed to all of Fresno County but feel a special responsibility to residents on the west side already reeling from a lack of water and depressed local economy.
"These are some of the hardest hit communities especially with all the issues they've been having with drought and unemployment. We really, really did want to help this community out," Escamilla said.
"The doctors out here and the services are extremely limited. They rely on us as much as we want to help them."
The next flu clinics are scheduled for Wednesday, November 4th at Manchester Center on East Shields and on Thursday, November 5th at the Fresno Retired Teachers Education Center on East Saginaw way in Fresno.
For more information on the H1N1 virus, check out the H1N1 page on our website. There you'll find a list of symptoms, prevention methods, and county hotline numbers.
