The Bartholomew County Health Department on Monday administered free hepatitis A vaccines at an immunization clinic set up for customers who may have eaten at Amazing Joe’s restaurant in Columbus in late April.
Bartholomew County Health Department officials had 1,000 hepatitis A vaccines on hand at the clinic, which is open until 6 p.m. today at the old Toys-R-Us store front at FairOaks Mall.
The clinic drew 86 people during the first 46 minutes, said Amanda Organist, director of nursing at the Bartholomew County Health Department. County health officials estimated that approximately 40 people had queued up by 11 a.m. to get the vaccine.
Amazing Joe’s, 2607 Central Ave., closed May 1 for one day to sanitize the restaurant after the Bartholomew County Health Department confirmed a female employee, who said on social media she was a server and bartender, was diagnosed with hepatitis A.
Hepatitis A is a vaccine-preventable communicable disease of the liver caused by a virus. It is usually transmitted person-to-person through the fecal-oral route or consumption of contaminated food or water.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
