CARIBOU, Maine — Cary Medical Center will offer a hepatitis A vaccine clinic today, Monday, May 20, at 4 p.m. in the Chan Center, prioritizing people who ate at Burger Boy on May 6 and 7, 2019.
“We have spent the weekend working with the state and our suppliers to obtain additional vaccine,” Bethany Zell, community and public relations coordinator for Cary, said in a Monday press release.
“At this time we expect to receive enough vaccine to vaccinate those that ate at Burger Boy on May 6 and 7, 2019. We are prioritizing those two dates because those who ate on May 6 will no longer benefit from being vaccinated, and after tomorrow those who ate on May 7 will no longer benefit from being vaccinated,” she said.
The hospital has ordered more vaccine to be available at clinics on Tuesday and Wednesday for those who ate at Burger Boy after May 7. Officials expect to release details on what is available each day as that information becomes available, and urged residents to visit Cary’s Facebook page and local media for updates.
Hospital officials offered the following information in response to questions they have received about the vaccine:
The Hepatitis A vaccine is safe in pregnancy.
While Hepatitis A has been a part of the recommended vaccine schedule since 1996, it takes time to integrate new recommendations into practice. Most children were not routinely vaccinated until the early 2010’s. Please check your child’s vaccine records. If they have been vaccinated they do not need another vaccine.
Likewise, those who have been vaccinated for some reason as an adult, within the last 20 years, do not need to be re-vaccinated.
“Finally, a reminder that any risk from eating at Burger Boy has passed and there is no reason not to patronize them at this point,” Zell said in the release. “This could happen at any restaurant in the country.”
For more information please see: https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hav/afaq.htm#overview. Those with specific questions about your unique healthcare status should contact their primary care provider.
