Updated at: 09/15/2009 5:39 PM | KSAX.com
By: Megan Matthews
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Pope County Officials Plan for H1N1 Outbreak

Starbuck, Minn.: Pope County is the first to hold an H1N1 scenario meeting, where they discussed a plan of attack if and when the virus hits the county.

"I don't know if you're ever really ready, but I do know that when something happens here we've got a great bunch of people here that can work together and we usually can get through the situation that we have at hand," said Pope County Sheriff Tom Larson.

Sheriff Larson was among about forty other county officials who came together Tuesday to answer questions like how to tell the public about the pandemic and who will be in charge if an emergency does happen; however, they still aren't sure what to expect.

"It's hard to know exactly what to expect, what we can do is we can prepare, and I think that we need to let our public know that they can be empowered to put themselves in a better position of being prepared," said Sharon Braaten, Director of Pope County Public Health.

Helping the public starts with meetings like this one.  There will be seven other county meetings in the future organized by Healthcare System Preparedness.  Those counties include Douglas, Grant and Ottertail.

Another hot topic is the H1N1 vaccine, which is set to arrive in Minnesota in early October.  County Officials are talking about how to distribute the vaccine to the masses if needed.

Braaten says those with the highest risk will receive the vaccine first.  People at the highest risk include pregnant women and young children, among some others.  The vaccine will then be available to the rest of the public depending on how much supply Minnesota receives.

Written for the web by Megan Matthews

megan@ksax.com