The Detroit Health Department is offering food workers an all-day Hepatitis A vaccination clinic on January 29th in hopes of stopping an ongoing outbreak of the disease.
Dating back to 2016, roughly 700 Hepatitis A cases have showed up in southeast Michigan. 154 of those cases involved Detroit residents.
“We’ve been really trying to be aggressive in terms of tackling this outbreak,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, a doctor with the Detroit Health Department.
“By getting the Hepatitis A vaccine, it helps to protect the food worker, and the community.”
Those at the highest risk of contracting Hepatitis A include the homeless, drug users, and people who already have Hepatitis B or C. However, Hepatitis A is easy to contract by coming in contact with a person who has the virus, or contaminated food or drinks — that’s why vaccinating food service workers is so important.
“This current outbreak is not coming we normally only see a handful of cases in a given year,” said Dr. Khaldun. “That’s why we’ve really revved up our resources to make sure we can stop this outbreak from spreading further.”
The special Hepatitis A clinic will take place from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Samaritan Center Kilpatrick Conference Room in Detroit — it’s located at 5555 Conner, Detroit.
Restaurant workers are encouraged to stop by with their ID and an insurance card. If you do not have insurance you’re recommended to come anyway, because you may qualify for a free shot.
Restaurant owners or managers may also call the Detroit Health Department to arrange for employee vaccination at 313-410-8142. To learn more information about Hepatitis A, visit www.detroitmi.gov/health.
