Officials wary of H1N1will come

Below abot H1N1.

H1N1 is a major problem in 2009, and health officials warn that people should not assume that it is the story.

"Historically, there are at least two or three waves of flu," Brown County Health Department Director Judy Friederichs said Tuesday. "We've had two: one in the spring and one in the fall. There's still that potential that we could have the third wave, so we're trying to stay ahead of it."

Friederichs and public health officials made ​​vaccination clinic Tuesday at the Lambeau Field Atrium, where several hundred local residents turned out. Who should not have been vaccinated, he said.

"I certainly think there are still quite a few people who need to be immunized," Friederichs said. Her department will sponsor two more clinics next week, with the times and sites announced later this week.

"We certainly don't want to repeat the fall," she said.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is asking public health departments to increase efforts to reach minority communities. State data showed that a higher ratio of minorities were hospitalized with H1N1 during the fall outbreak than nonminorities.

State officials said there were several possible reasons for the disparity, including reduced access to health care for minorities.

Friederichs said reaching minority and diverse populations has been a priority.

"We've tried to focus outreach on those weeks when we've had clinics," Friederichs said, saying 400 to 500 fliers were distributed in targeted areas. The fliers had both English and Spanish translations, urging people to be immunized.