People traveling to Gulf states in response to Hurricane Katrina may want to consider getting booster shots before they leave Florida. As a result, the Sarasota County Health Department held a special immunization clinic Thursday. Sarasota health educator Dianne Shipley says people traveling to help Katrina victims could be at risk without proper vaccinations:

“While there are no required immunizations normally for hurricane relief, when there’s standing water as there is in the case of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and there’s a lot of debris in that water, there’s an awful lot of risks that go along with that and certainly if somebody steps on a nail, if they incur some sort of a sting from an insect or particularly get a snake bite or something like that, drinking the water that may not be potable or consumable; and there are other immunizations other than tetanus shots that people can get for that, hepatitis A being one of them.”

Shipley adds the goal is to make sure those going to help not become an impediment to the operation by falling ill. The Florida Department of Health recommends Tetanus shots for hurricane relief workers. The cost of the vaccine is approximately 22 dollars. The Sarasota health department will offer additional immunization clinics as needed.