Potassium Iodide Pills Distributed

Wake County Human Services distributed potassium iodide pills to nearly 20,000 citizens over the first weekend in November, while officials in Lee, Harnett and Chatham counties distributed pills to about 4,000 residents. Public health officials will continue to make the pills available to eligible residents through their county health departments. Pills also are available from local drugstores and through the Internet.

In Wake County, public health workers distributed the potassium iodide pills to 19,965 people, or 45 percent of the eligible population. Lee County officials reported distributing to 503 people, or 28 percent of the county's eligible population. Harnett County health department workers distributed pills to 1,326 people, or 44.6 percent of its eligible population. Chatham reported 2,170 people receiving the pills, or 55 percent of the eligible population.

Eligible residents who missed the weekend distribution may still come to the Wake County Human Services pharmacy and the other county health departments at these times, while supplies last:

• Wake County Human Services pharmacy, 10 Sunnybrook Road, Raleigh; Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Chatham County Health Department, Pittsboro; Tuesday, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Lee County Health Department, Sanford; Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Harnett County Health Department, Lillington; Monday through Friday, 8 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 4:30 p.m.

The pills are to be taken only upon notification by public health officials to protect the thyroid in the event of a radiation emergency. If taken within the appropriate time and at the appropriate dosage, potassium iodide blocks the thyroid gland's uptake of radioactive iodine, reducing the risk of thyroid cancer.

For more information on the Wake County distribution, call 250-3097.