Vermilion H1N1 clinic's line 'moved very quickly'

DANVILLE – When the Vermilion County Health Department opened its first H1N1 influenza vaccine clinic on Tuesday, Clay Woodard of Catlin and his children – much to the kids' chagrin – were among the first to roll up their sleeves and get a shot.

"My wife and I decided we'd like to err on the side of caution," said Woodard, who was eligible to get the vaccine because he's a first responder.

"And I simply wanted to show them there's nothing to fear," he continued, referring to his 8-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son, both still teary-eyed from the ordeal.

When Woodard arrived at the walk-in clinic at South View Middle School around noon, an hour before the clinic was set to open, he estimated 50 to 60 people were already in line. That number easily had doubled by the time health officials opened the doors about 15 minutes early.

"It was a very long line, but it moved very quickly," said Angel Watson of Oakwood, who brought her 4-year-old son, Nicholas Anspach, and 2-year-old daughter, Kamryn Collom, to get vaccinated. "I think it was very organized. And they were all very nice and helpful."

Health officials scheduled the clinic and nine others, which will be held in Danville, Hoopeston and Georgetown over the next few weeks, after receiving about half of their order of the H1N1 flu vaccine – 18,000 injectable doses and 7,000 nasal spray doses. The clinics are for those most at risk from complications of the virus.

"We hope this gets us through November or early December," Administrator Steve Laker said, adding that will depend on the demand.

"We had no idea what to expect. It will all depend on the local level of concern," he said, adding that staff members were prepared to administer some 2,000 doses of vaccine the first day. By 7 p.m. when the clinic closed, staffers had given 1,025 doses.

Laker said four H1N1 cases in the county have been confirmed so far. The first case, reported last week, was a 6-year-old in the Danville public school system, and two others are school-aged children.

"The oldest is a 24-year-old," Laker said.

That's to be expected given the level of flu activity in the area, spokeswoman Linda Bolton said. And she expects to see more cases as the virus, which first showed up on both coasts, becomes more prevalent in this area.

"It's going to catch up with us," she said. "That's why we have to remain vigilant."

Despite the crowd of about 150 people, not all of whom were getting vaccinated, Watson said it didn't take long to fill out the paperwork, have it entered into the health department's computers and take her kids to one of the eight vaccination stations. The only problem was getting Nicholas to sit still long enough for nurse Marsha Comrie to give him the shot and put on a bandage.

"C'mon, Bear," Watson said, holding her son's hand. "Don't you want that milkshake?"

Bolton said the process should take about 20 minutes, unless staff have follow-up questions. But so far "it's going pretty smoothly," she said after the initial wave had gone through.

Bolton said the clinic, the largest event the health department has put on, was the result of months of specific H1N1 planning and several years of preparing and planning for a large-scale emergency event. Laker said the plan is flexible enough to change with the public's demand.

"We could scale up or down or add locations, if we need to," he said. As they did Tuesday, he said, officials will monitor the operation and make any necessary changes.

He said officials will determine later when they can set up clinics for the general population.

To expedite the process, Laker advised people who come for a vaccination to wear either a short-sleeve shirt or one with a sleeve that can be rolled up easily.

Bolton also recommended that people go to review the consent form on the health department's Web site, www.vchd.org. While they can't fill it out ahead of time, they can look at it to make sure they have all of the necessary information.

"What we need more than anything else is for people to be patient," Bolton said. "We've set up a system we think will work, but we may run into glitches. ... Let us work through those, and we'll get everyone vaccinated as soon as we're able."

Bolton also told people who are already experiencing flu symptoms to stay home.

"This is for healthy people," she said, adding sick people should see their doctor. "If you're already sick, the vaccine won't help you anyway. This vaccine isn't a treatment."

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