Public Health Prepares for Flu, COVID, and New Dairy Worker Vaccines in Winneshiek County

DECORAH — In the latest Winneshiek County Supervisors Meeting, which took place Monday, October 7, the supervisors invited Krista Vanden Brink to give a general update on the status of Winneshiek County Public Health. "We're busy," Vanden Brink shared. "It's flu shot time, so we're getting a lot of questions about whether we're still doing flu shots; yes, we are. They are by appointment. People just need to give our office a call." Public Health is also currently offering RSV shots, Prevnar 20 shots (pneumonia), and Shingrix shots (shingles) for adults. According to Vanden Brink, Public Health's vaccine storage units are currently full. "We're waiting on our Covid vaccine. We've been asking, and that should be in maybe this week." Vanden Brink added. Vanden Brink noted that there is a new flu vaccine for dairy workers, created in response to the avian influenza outbreak that has been affecting dairy cattle. "We have a list of the dairy farms here in Winneshiek County that has been provided to us by the state, and so we will be contacting them to set up times to provide immunizations to those workers," Vanden Brink said. Vanden Brink also highlighted a new system in which public health can now collect insurance information and copay for patients immediately, which has been helping with offsite vaccination clinics and a new adult vaccination program. Vanden Brink was asked about the status of measles in Iowa, as there have been thirteen known outbreaks of the virus in 2024—according to the CDC—including one in the Twin Cities and one in Des Moines. "Measles is still dancing around the country and the world. We don't know if or when we'll ever get a case. We certainly hope not. We're doing immunization audits now. That happens in the schools through the end of October, and we start with the pre-schools and daycares… Once I have all of the immunization audits done, then I'll have a better idea of 'Are we seeing an increase in those numbers, or are we staying the same?' Providers are being told to look for it." Vanden Brink also mentioned a meeting that was held with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services on Friday, October 4, which featured Iowa Division of Public Health Operations Deputy Ken Sharp, Medical Director of Occupational Health at MercyOne in Des Moines Dr. Robert Kruse, State Representative Mike Bergan, and Tricia Wilkins of Northeast Iowa Community Action, as well as several other public health officials. "We were able to hear the conversation coming from the state, indicating that public health is still very much a needed resource, public health will remain in all of the counties, and there will be some collaborative approaches when it comes to contract administration, but the services are still going to exist in all of the counties." Vanden Brink then cautioned about one item that would "upset the supervisors the most". "Here in a couple years, any home health clients that are being billed for the local public health services contract, that's going to be on the county [for that hook], and so agencies are going to have to take a look at 'What is their pay source?' There are some of these people who don't have money to pay for any kind of home visits—and they don't qualify for Title 19—there's going to be some challenges when it comes out," Vanden Brink said. Supervisor Shirley Vermace asked Vanden Brink how many people this pertained to, to which Vanden Brink responded it was "about five of them." Vanden Brink then continued on to the next topic of discussion: the public health building in Decorah. "That's something that our board will be.. talking with Tricia Wilkins a little bit more to find out what our options are for staying where we're at," Vanden Brink continued. "We know you guys signed the lease to keep us there, but the shortfalls of the Community Services building are that it's costly to put additional drains in for sinks for handwashing and washing equipment." Vanden Brink maintained that despite constraints, staying in place at the Community Services Building was for the best for now, and that her staff were even making efforts to utilize less space. Vermace also asked Vanden Brink how many staff were currently working for public health Vanden Brink paused, responding that the department currently employs six people. Supervisor Mark Faldet then asked Vanden Brink if she had just recently hired someone new, which Vanden Brink confirmed. Join the community of savvy subscribers (for free)! Get the latest updates, tips, and insider information by subscribing to the free newsletter today.