Speaker 4: Item 13 is a report from the office council member I lost in the House member Steven Neal with the recommendation to request the city manager to provide a report from the Health Department to the City Council and the public on the severity of this year's flu season and the importance of getting vaccinated and city resources that are available.
Speaker 3: I'm sorry. Where are we? 13. Mr. Ross.
Speaker 6: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As you know, many, many of our residents throughout the city of Long Beach and throughout the state are now hit with the influenza virus. I understand that this is one of the more severe strains and many people are being adversely impacted. I wanted to bring this forward, along with Councilmember Neal, to have the health department discuss the public severity of this year's flu season, the importance of getting vaccinated, and to provide us any city resources available to to residents to stay healthy. I'd like to turn this over to staff.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Councilmember. We'll have a report from our director of Health Services, Kelly Collopy, as well as our health officer, Dr. Mitchell Kershner.
Speaker 0: Good evening, Vice Mayor and members of the city council. As you probably heard, it's a big flu season and so it's not too late to get your. It's not too late to get your shot. We've had five, five fatalities in our city. And from from influenza, it's been hitting a much younger population than we've seen in the past. It's not just in older people's. It's not just hitting older people. We're finding it. You know, the median age is in the thirties. Those that are really being hit hard tend to have more underlying conditions diabetes, obesity, those kinds of things. They're showing up in our emergency rooms as the health department, we received 8000 doses from Los Angeles County of the vaccine. Of those, we distributed about 5000 to our community partners, which are nonprofits. They include organizations such as the Children's Clinic, St Mary's Mobile Clinic. And so they they provide that. They provide the shots and then they report back to us and how those shots are used. In terms of then, you know, what's available.
Speaker 2: Moving.
Speaker 0: Forward. The county or sorry, the city is providing free clinics. We are providing a free clinic this Thursday morning at the health building at 25, 25 grand. We'll be providing another free clinic Friday.
Speaker 7: Afternoon at the health building.
Speaker 0: And then on Saturday, between ten and two at Houghton Park, in conjunction with a. Affordable Care Act registration opportunity. So there are free opportunities out there. We have given over 2000 free immunizations so far. A thousand or so at the Health Department and another 1000 at other events out in the community. So we're doing our very best to bring to bring access. I do want to turn over the the time to Dr. Kushner as he's got a little bit more.
Speaker 2: About.
Speaker 0: The effectiveness of the vaccination and why it's important to get it. Thank you.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Mayor. City Council. As our director mentioned, there's been five confirmed deaths so far. And to put this in perspective, in the our influenza activity is widespread throughout California, throughout the whole state. There have been over 200 confirmed deaths of influenza in California at this point currently. Almost all the all the deaths and most of the confirmed cases of influenza have been influenza type A H1N1. This is the type A influenza that first hit the scene in 2009, 2010. The city of Long Beach had no fatalities from influenza over the last two years. Back in that season, we had a total of eight fatalities. So having five already at this point sort of points to the seriousness of the widespread activity. There are currently five ICU hospitalizations currently in our Long Beach hospitals. The H1N1 strain is included in this year's vaccine. We have started vaccinating since October of this year. We there is still plenty of flu in the state and in our city. The health department continues to offer flu vaccine. And basically, I'm urging residents that it is not too late to continue to receive the flu vaccine and to be protected. I will also say out of the five fatalities, all even though it's a younger age, as was the case in 2009, 2010, all the fatalities included younger people, but they all had underlying conditions such as diabetes , heart disease, etc.. Okay. Thank you.
Speaker 6: Thank you very much. And I just had a quick question, Mr. Vice Mayor, if I may. The community free clinics. Yeah. Will we be providing Felipe Reef flu shots at those clinics?
Speaker 2: Yes. Yes. The extra additional clinics that we've added at the Health Department and in Highland Park will be free and open to everyone. Yes.
Speaker 6: Okay. Thank you very much.
Speaker 2: Okay. Any public comment on the item? Saying None up. Yes, go ahead, sir.
Speaker 3: Aaron. Aaron Day. Now, when I was 35 years old, and that was while I'm 74 now, I was living in Los Angeles and they had the the flu. Well, they actually had the flu going around. And I caught it. And that was the London flu. And as it turned out, you see, I didn't I didn't watch myself. And so as it turned out, 35 years of age, when I caught it, I almost died. And there was a young man across the street from me. He was 29 years old and he did pass away. Now, when I talked to a lot of people, now what I hear, hear them say is, oh, when I take that flu shot, oh, I get the you know, the reactions and all that. And so many people don't want to take that flu shot. And I know this year last year in October, when I got my flu shot, I was really feeling good that day because I felt really great. But later on that evening, I had measles and I felt really bad. So I ended up going home and slept and I slept the rest of the evening. I got up and had dinner, but then went back to bed. But I don't know. One of my brothers also, he doesn't want to take the flu shot because he still has that reaction. So I think that has to be emphasized also that, you know, some people will get that reaction. And so it's those people who don't want to take their flu shot. So that's what this economy.
Speaker 2: Thank you, sir. Councilman Austin Jordan, back in motion.
Speaker 6: Yes. I'd like to move the receiving file this report.
Speaker 2: There's been a motion in a second. No other public comment or the council comment. Please cast your votes. I mean, yes.
Speaker 4: Motion carries five votes. Yes.
Speaker 2: Next item.
Speaker 4: 1814 is a report from the City Manager, Financial Management, Parks and Recreation and Public Works Department with a recommendation to approve as needed project management services and award contracts to five construction management firms for a period for an amount not to exceed $10 million for a period of two years.
Recommendation to request City Manager to provide a report from the Health Department to the City Council and the public on the severity of this year's flu season, the importance of getting vaccinated, and City resources that are available.