Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
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| Vaccines given to people at high risk |
Area residents line up outside the National Guard Armory in Martinsville before 9 a.m. Monday to wait their turn to receive a vaccine against the H1N1 flu virus, also known as swine flu. Sara Thompson, a registered nurse with the Henry-Martinsville Health Department (far left, in pink) is seen instructing the crowd on what to expect. A total of 637 people received the vaccine Monday. (Bulletin photos by Mike Wray) |
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Tuesday, November 10, 2009
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
More than 600 people received vaccines against the H1N1 flu virus during a clinic Monday at the National Guard Armory in Martinsville, according to an official with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).
The local health department offered the vaccines in three shifts. A total of 637 vaccines were administered, said Bobby Parker, public information officer for VDH.
No one was turned away Monday, Parker said. A total of 1,000 vaccines had been made available for the clinic, which meant 363 were not used.
The leftover vaccines will be used to vaccinate students in area schools because they are in a high-risk group for flu complications, Parker said.
Monday’s clinic, which was intended for people in high risk groups, such as children, pregnant women and health care workers, drew people from throughout the region.
Chris Carter of Radford was among the morning group. She brought her 10-month-old daughter, Hypatia Carter, to Martinsville for the vaccine.
“I took a ‘Mommy Vacation’” and spent the night at the Jameson Inn on Sunday to get an early spot in line Monday, Carter said. “Nobody around Radford has the shots for infants.”
Two types of H1N1 vaccines were available: the mist/spray and the shot, according to Sara Thompson, a registered nurse with the health department.
The shot, which is made using a dead form of the virus, takes about two weeks to build immunity, Thompson said.
It is recommended for infants, Carter said.
In comparison, the spray contains a live virus and starts working immediately. It is recommended in most cases and can be administered to healthy people aged 2 to 49 years old, Thompson said.
The spray was in limited supply Monday, in part because health officials take it to school vaccine clinics, Thompson said. She urged those in line to take the shot and save the spray vaccines for young children who are afraid of shots.
Shawn Spencer lives in Franklin County but works at Memorial Hospital in Martinsville. She said she had been calling the health department “for weeks ... looking for” a mercury and preservative free shot for her 2-year-old daughter, Bailey Spencer.
Because Spencer is a health care worker, and Carter works at Radford University, both said they were in high-risk groups and already had their vaccines.
“I’m here for her,” Carter said, nodding toward her daughter.
Roger and Dale Belle of Henry also were among the first group to get vaccines. While not in a high risk group per se, the Belles plan to travel to Asia next month to visit their son, who lives in China.
“Our doctor recommended we get” the H1N1 vaccine, Dale Belle said. However, the doctor did not have any to distribute.
This was the first year either had taken a flu shot, they said.
Dale Belle also has had a vaccine to prevent against the seasonal flu, she said. It also was recommended by her doctor.
Roger Belle has not, she said, adding those vaccines are in short supply.
Thompson said the H1N1 vaccine was the only vaccine available at the clinic or the adjacent health department.
“We are out of the regular flu vaccine,” the nurse said. “If you can find” the vaccine at another location, “get it,” she said, adding that health officials do not know when they will receive more.
Those who received the H1N1 vaccines were asked to wait 10 to 15 minutes before leaving the armory, a source of concern for some, Thompson said. Most people say they’ve never been asked to wait after a vaccine before, she added.
“I don’t care what you come to the health department for,” if you get a shot, “we’re going to ask you to wait” 10 or 15 minutes before leaving as a precaution, Thompson said.
According to Parker, 225 people were vaccinated during the morning shift, 180 at midday and 232 in the evening.
Before each clinic got under way, health officials told participants what to expect.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires that each person receiving the H1N1 vaccine also receive a safety information sheet, Thompson said.
Each person getting vaccinated also received a card that contained the lot number of the vaccine and the manufacturer “so you know, and your doctor knows,” what was administered, Thompson said.
Parker said health officials provide information about the manufacturer to “try to reassure people about the process” and safety of the vaccine.
“There’s been so much hype” about the safety of the H1N1 vaccine, Thompson said, adding she has heard the same stories as everyone else: The vaccines were rushed to production and market.
But, she said, the vaccines are made by the same manufacturer that produces the regular flu vaccine.
Vaccines aimed at disease prevention are like insurance, she said. “You either have it or you don’t.”
“I believe in vaccines. I trust what the doctors tell me,” Parker said. “It’s riskier not to take it.”
Thompson encouraged those receiving the vaccine Monday “to eat and drink like a pig” afterward. “No pun intended,” she added, referring to H1N1’s common name, swine flu.
Parker was not sure when vaccines will become available for people who are not in the high risk groups. The state is ordering as many vaccines as it can, he said, but shipments remain hard to predict. |
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