Long lines on first day of H1N1 vaccinations

Lake County Health Department H1N1 flu vaccine clinics were besieged by crowds Thursday, and officials said the department’s first supply of vaccine will likely run out Friday or Saturday.

The Health Department, which has requested 100,000 doses of vaccine, received 12,650 doses Monday.

A crowd estimated by Round Lake Beach Police Deputy Chief Richard Chiarello at 1,000 people waited in line outside of the clinic located at the Round Lake Area District Sports Center at about 9:30 a.m.

The clinic began giving shots at 8 a.m., but the first person in line arrived at 3 a.m., according to Health Department Executive Director Irene Pierce.

The Health Department set up a wrist band system for those in line and was limiting the doses administered at each clinic to 1,300, a figure based on the size of the facilities and number of staff people working the clinics, Pierce said.

“We want to keep safe and effective vaccination campaigns,” she said.

Officials stressed that the department expects to receive additional shipments of the vaccine, and that other healthcare providers and drug stores will eventually carry the vaccine as well.

“In the long run, we’ll have more than enough H1N1 vaccine for everyone,” Pierce said.

For the first shipment, the health department is limiting the vaccine to high priority groups including individuals from 6 months to 24 years old, caretakers and household contacts of children under 6 months old, pregnant women, health-care and emergency medical services employees, and people 25 to 64 years old with underlying medical conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, which put them at high risk for flu-related complications.

Laura Hansen of Grayslake said she arrived at the Round Lake clinic at 6:15 a.m. to get a vaccine for her son Benjamin, who will soon turn one. She emerged from the clinic at about 10:25 a.m. with that mission accomplished.

“We just wanted to get him a shot as quickly as possible, and our doctor didn’t have any yet,” she said.

Some people near the end of the winding line in Round Lake Beach complained about the procedures, but for the most part, people seemed orderly and polite.

By mid-morning, Chiarello described the operation as “going very smoothly.”

Clinics are also being held in Waukegan, Mundelein, Gurnee and North Chicago.

Officials stressed that the vaccine isn’t the only way to fight H1N1. Frequent hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes and staying away from others when you are sick are also key to limiting its spread.

Dr. Victor Plotkin, an epidemiologist with the Health Department, said adults who stay home from work when sick and parents who keep kids from school when they are ill “do a great service.”

Plotkin said those with the flu are most contagious just prior to becoming ill and for the first three days of the illness. People should not return to work or school until they have a normal temperature without the use of fever reducers.