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STEUBENVILLE -- As influenza season approaches, the Jefferson County health board heard an update Tuesday on where the department is at with immunizations for the flu, as well as for COVID-19 and RSV.
The health department's medical director, Dr. Janie Culp, said Sunday marks the typical beginning of immunizations for the flu, as the flu lasts all year but reaches a high point during the fall and winter months. Other locations have chosen to begin immunizations in September, she said, but the effects of early vaccinations might not last the whole season, which runs through March 31.
"If people did get the vaccine for the first time in July or August," Culp said, "I would recommend probably around January to get a second dose, so you have protection through the whole season."
Earlier, the board approved a $6,463.94 purchase order for flu shots from pharmaceutical medicine developer GlaxoSmithKline. Health Commissioner Andrew Henry said the shots will be used for the department's October flu clinics, and some have already been distributed to community clinics.
Flu vaccines, Culp said, are recommended for those 6 months of age and older. This year's vaccine is quadrivalent, meaning it protects against four flu strains -- two A viruses and two B viruses. There are three options for immunizations: A regular vaccine, nasal spray and high-dose variant intended for people 65 and older.
The nasal spray, Culp said, is a live-attenuated vaccine, meaning it contains a weakened version of the flu virus, and is not recommended for immunocompromised individuals. It is, however, preferred by some for its better coverage during the season's duration.
Culp said no pharmacies in the area were carrying the high-dose variant or nasal spray at the time of the health board's meeting. However, she said, the other vaccine versions may become available come Sunday.
Other vaccinations of public interest -- the respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, approved for medical use in the United States in May, and the COVID-19 vaccine -- can be administered at the same time as the flu vaccine, Culp said. There is no combination vaccine for the three, Culp said, but a person can have all three done within the same clinic visit or spread out over time.
The health department itself has a lab machine, which Culp said has been functioning for about a year, that can do rapid tests for RSV, flu and COVID-19, as well as strep throat. That service, Culp said, is available to the public.
The board decided later to hold off on purchasing updated COVID-19 vaccines from the state of Ohio, which nursing director Hannah Piko estimated would cost between $100 and $115 per dose. The vaccines would be for individuals with insurance, though the board recommended the department wait and see how other county pharmacies fare offering the commercial vaccine before investing its financial resources on its own stock that has the risk of not seeing community use.
The department already offers free vaccines for those with no insurance and for children through its Vaccines for Kids Program, Culp said.
In other business:
Henry thanked nursing staff member Kylie Smogonovich for her work facilitating the beginning of a community diaper bank, as well as Edison Local and Toronto City school districts for donating a combined total of 23,000 diapers for the bank, which will begin distribution in 2024. Other events benefiting the diaper bank include a "Dine to Donate" at the Steubenville Texas Roadhouse on Nov. 25 from noon to 4 p.m. and a "diaper dash 5K" on Dec. 2 at Belleview Park and Brady Estates.
Henry reported that the department qualified for second-tier funding from the Ohio Department of Health's Healthy Eating and Active Living program grant. Henry said the department will pursue the active transportation side of the program, which offers $25,000 focused on planning and improving current infrastructure for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Hannah Piko, nursing director, said the department was awarded a new grant from the state health department for its Cribs for Kids Program.
The board heard from David Cieply, executive vice president of landfill operations for Interstate Waste Services, which owns Apex Landfill in Amsterdam. Cieply told the board of IWS's continued efforts to remediate odors from the landfill, following a notice of violation of Ohio Administrative Code 3745-27-19. The notice, issued by the department on Sept. 8, came after the landfill's spray-on odor-covering machine broke down on Sept. 7, and the department received six confirmed odor complaints out of seven called in to an odor complaint hotline.
The board approved sanitarian Jack McGuire to forward a nuisance property case -- Jonathon and Sara Greene of 1373 and 1381 Sinclair Ave. -- to the county prosecutor's office.
The board began its first of three 2024 readings of fees for its cost methodology of certain environmental programs.