Where to find the flu vaccine in the SCV

The county’s Department of Public Health put out an alert Wednesday to urge residents to go get the flu shot, even though the flu season has been in full swing for months.

However, one of the problems residents are finding about the flu vaccine, which physicians generally recommend people get in October, before winter gets here, is that a lot of places are out of it.

The Signal reached out to more than 20 pharmacies Wednesday afternoon to determine which locations still have the vaccine available, creating a list at the end of this story..

The shortages have been caused primarily by two factor, according to numerous pharmacists The Signal spoke to Wednesday: the strands of influenza A and B going around this year are particularly strong; and there’s been a nationwide surge of diagnoses late in what’s traditionally known as flu season.

In fact, county health officials urged the business community to be understanding of employees calling in sick, during a news conference Wednesday.

“It’s very important for people to get vaccinated against flu,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the second thing is, it’s very important for people who are sick to be able to stay home -- and that

requires the cooperation of so many of our business partners. People need to be allowed to stay home when they’re sick, and they need to be allowed to stay home to care for their children.”

The numbers indicate the severity of the symptoms, compared to previous years: to date, there are 36 confirmed influenza-associated deaths in Los Angeles County; however, last year at this time, there were only 13 deaths, which mostly affect infants, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

Additionally, this flu season, emergency room visits for influenza-like illness symptoms are up 130 percent countywide, and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital officials recently reported that it usually sees about 200 patients per day in its emergency room during winter, putting it near capacity -- and as a result of this year’s flu season, its patient intake numbers have been about 25 percent higher than that, on average.

There generally are two types of vaccines, a “high” dose, which is for those who are 65 and older, because it has a more concentrated dose of the virus, geared toward senior citizens, and what’s generally referred to as the “regular” dose, for pretty much everyone else healthy enough to receive the vaccine.

Here’s a look at local resources for Santa Clarita residents seeking the flu vaccine at retail pharmacies (bear in mind the supply figures could change for a particular location, which is why the location’s phone number is also included. The numbers and estimates are accurate as of Wednesday afternoon, per store officials)

If someone has a questions about whether they are healthy enough for a flu vaccine shot, they should contact their primary health care physician.