A national outbreak of hepatitis A has led to a spike in local cases of the disease. That prompted local health officials to host four temporary vaccination clinics around Salt Lake City.
A white 30-by-30-foot tent is set up on the south edge of Pioneer Park in downtown Salt Lake. Inside, six nurses sit at folding tables, each with a box of needles and a small red cooler filled with hepatitis A vaccine.
Tara Brunatti is a nursing supervisor in the Salt Lake County Health Department. A man in a white polo sits down at her station.
"Alright, so we’re giving you the hepatitis A vaccine tonight. The first one in a series of two," Brunati says. She then asks if he's had problems with vaccines before or if he has any food or medical allergies.
Hepatitis A is spread through fecal contamination, usually on food. Nicholas Rupp is a Public Information Officer with the County Health Department. He says that so far the Salt Lake County Health Department has recorded 16 cases this year.
"Our five-year average is four cases for an entire year and only two to this point in the year. So, to have 16 year-to-date, that’s quite an increase and something we’ve definitely been concerned about," Rupp says.
Because hepatitis A is associated with poor sanitation, the county health department brought this clinic to Pioneer Park’s homeless population, a group that’s at greater risk than the general public.
Rupp says over half of the cases they’ve tested so far have been linked to a large outbreak in San Diego, California.
Sitting with her patient, Tara Brunatti, the nurse, takes the plastic off a needle.
"I’m just gonna lift up your sleeve here," she says. "You’re going to feel a quick poke."
And then, before you know it, it’s done.