Three thousand Sacramento County children may go without flu vaccines this year.

The Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services can't afford the 10 flu clinics it usually holds each fall at the county's poorest schools, said Sacramento County public health officer Dr. Glennah Trochet.

In February, a letter from the California Department of Public Health alerted county health officers that funding for its immunization program had been eliminated by state legislators.

Even if it had the vaccine, the county can't afford the $15,000 to $20,000 it would cost to pay for overtime and on-call workers to staff the one-day clinics, Trochet said.

Last year, the county was able to immunize 2,000 children before then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut the funding in October, part way through the program.

The state eliminated $18 million in local assistance funding for the state health department's immunization program. Money for vaccines made up the bulk of the cuts – $7.3 million, according to the California Immunization Coalition.

"The clinics are very valuable," Trochet said. "Research has been done that shows if the children are immunized, the adults in the family don't get the flu. We know that kids generally bring the bug home."

Flu immunization clinics for seniors were eliminated before they even started last year, Trochet said. The health department held 17 one-day clinics for seniors each year before that.

Influenza is a deadly disease that primarily strikes the elderly and very young, said Assemblyman Richard Pan, D-Natomas, who's a medical doctor. "When they get sick, someone has to pick up the tab for their illness. Unfortunately, we have to cut back on the program."

Since last year, the annual flu shot has included a vaccination against the H1N1 virus, as well as the various strains of seasonal influenza. Trochet said that people are still catching and sometimes dying from the H1N1 virus.

Sacramento County's flu shot program had already been shrinking. The health department's clinics quit offering the flu vaccine to low-income county residents in 2008.

The funding cuts fly in the face of the state's own advice. "Routine influenza vaccination is recommended for all persons aged 6 months and older," according to the California Department of Public Health website.

"On the public health side, everyone should get it," Pan said. "On the funding side – oh well. There are things we should be doing that would be good for everybody, but we don't have the revenue to pay for it."

The Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services is looking for other revenue streams to fund the school flu clinics.

Trochet said everyone should get vaccinated, whether or not the clinics are held. Vaccinations are available for purchase in doctors' offices and at pharmacies, she said.

She said that most senior citizens have Medi-Cal or Medicare, which will pay for the immunizations.

"Immunizations are one of the most cost-effective ways of preventing disease and influenza, in terms of human life," Pan said.

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