"I am grateful for UC Davis Medical Center's support for our vaccination clinics at schools," said Glennah Trochet, Sacramento County Health Officer. "The funding will be used for regular, overtime and on-call staff who are needed now to plan the clinics with eligible schools, and then to staff the clinics in the fall of this year. It also will go toward the purchase of supplies, including vaccines, if needed."
The Department of Human Health Services has traditionally offered influenza vaccines to children and staff at low-income schools, where a large proportion of students are eligible for the free lunch program. During the influenza season last year, the department conducted vaccine clinics at 10 schools. The funding from UC Davis, along with other contributions from the community, will help the department continue meeting the high demand for this important service.
"Vaccinations are crucial to preventing the flu and the spread of infection in our community," said Ann Madden Rice, chief executive officer, UC Davis Medical Center. "During these tough economic times, it is important for the community to come together to protect our most vulnerable citizens. I am pleased to contribute these funds on behalf of all faculty, staff and students at UC Davis Medical Center who are on the front lines working hard every day to improve the health of children."
An estimated 5 percent to 20 percent of people in the United States contract the flu during the course of a year. In addition, 200,000 people are hospitalized annually and about 36,000 people die from complications. Because children are at high risk for contracting influenza, efforts to increase vaccination rates among children are important to ensuring public health.
UC Davis Health System has a strong commitment to reducing the spread of influenza, from implementing policies that require all employees and those conducting business on site to be vaccinated or wear masks during high-risk periods to educational initiatives that promote the use of universal precautions and other healthy habits to prevent infection.
UC Davis Medical Center is a comprehensive academic health center where clinical practice, teaching and research converge to advance human health. Centers of excellence include the National Cancer Institute-designated UC Davis Cancer Center; the region's only level 1 pediatric and adult trauma centers; the UC Davis MIND Institute, devoted to finding treatments and cures for neurodevelopmental disorders; and the UC Davis Children's Hospital. The medical center serves a 33-county, 65,000-square-mile area that stretches north to the Oregon border and east to Nevada. It further extends its reach through the award-winning telemedicine program, which gives remote, medically underserved communities throughout California unprecedented access to specialty and subspecialty care. For more information, visit medicalcenter.ucdavis.edu.