Oct 28, 2009 10:48 pm US/Central
Hundreds Line Up In Plainfield For H1N1 Vaccine
PLAINFIELD, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Hundreds of people got the H1N1 vaccine at Plainfield Central High School.
CBS
Frustrations are beginning to run deep when it comes to getting the H1N1 vaccine. But that didn't stop hundreds from lining up to get the vaccine in Plainfield Wednesday night. CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports that not everybody got what they wanted.
Some parents were turned away. They didn't know one of the requirements to get the nasal spray vaccine was that their kids could not have gotten vaccinated against seasonal flu within the last 30 days.
For others, the biggest problem was getting their kids to accept the process.
"It's not a needle. It's just something you're going to breathe in your nose, honey," one parent said.
It's an argument several parents pushed Wednesday as they sat their kids down to protect them from H1N1 flu.
Will County held a clinic at Plainfield Central High School, which drew heavy traffic and lines stretching outside.
"We're moving people through at about a rate of 300 vaccinations per hour," said Brian McDaniel, Will County Health Department. "This sort of meets our expectations."
Michael Paz got his three kids vaccinated, but saw others who were turned away.
"I recommend that you read and check out what you're supposed to have, if you can get the shot," Paz said. "If you have asthma or kids under certain ages, they won't allow it."
"The criteria is rather simple. They must be between the ages of 6 months and 24 years, and in generally good health," McDaniel said. "They can't have any underlying health conditions like asthma or diabetes."
And they can't be younger than 35 months to get the nasal spray.
It counts out Lisa Depatie's 2-month-old, but the rest of the family got the spray.
"We cannot get sick because we cannot endanger him," Depatie said. "He's too precious."
Some were waiting in line for three hours or more, but when you consider the illness, they say it was worth it.
People say they've heard about the short supply of the vaccine across the country, so they wanted to get in today.
The 1,000th patient says the nasal spray was easy and felt like "water."
And as for dad?
"I'm going to get the shot. I'm going to cry," he said.
On Thursday, Will County will host another clinic.
They just got an additional shipment of vaccine that can be given to those younger than 35 months.
Workers will give that, plus the nasal spray, at Joliet Central High School from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m.
The Chicago Health Department says it gets an additional 100,000 doses each week and will have clinics open at Chicago city colleges Thursday, too.
For more info on where you can go to get the vaccine,
click here.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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