As word spread that Bainbridge Pediatrics was the first clinic on the island to receive nasal vaccinations for H1N1 influenza A, hundreds of families spent their Monday afternoon in the brightly colored, picture-filled reception area, waiting to vaccinate their children.
“I believe in vaccinations,” said Sarah Sydor, who brought two children to the clinic. “It’s good for our family, and it’s good for the people around them,” she said.
Some of the children were in tears upon entering the clinic, while others took the spray with little hesitation.
Morgan, 6, is Sydor’s oldest daughter, and she was happy to receive the nasal spray instead of the shot.
“It felt good,” Morgan said. “It tickled a little bit.”
The clinic received its first shipment of 400 doses of the nasal spray vaccine last Friday, said Jennifer Ottmer, the clinic’s office manager.
“Since kids are the high-risk group, the health department tried to get the vaccines out to us quickly,” she said.
The nasal vaccine carries no upfront cost, Ottman said, but an administrative fee between $30 and $40 would be billed to the patients’ insurance.
Flu clinics held over the weekend and on Monday used all of the first shipment, but Ottmer said the clinic received another 400 doses of the nasal vaccine Tuesday.
Representatives from the two other clinics, Virginia Mason Winslow and the Doctors Clinic, said they have yet to receive any H1N1 vaccinations. The Doctors Clinic should have vaccinations available at the end of October or early November, while Virginia Mason spokeswoman Alisha Mark said it remains unknown when the clinic will receive its first shipment. She said the clinic was told by the county that the first round of vaccine had been shipped, but Virginia Mason has yet to receive anything.
Scott Daniels, spokesman for the county health district, said the county has had trouble receiving the federally manufactured vaccine, as well.
“We’re frustrated that it’s coming so slowly, but we’re shipping it as as we get it,” he said.
Daniels said in some cases, vaccines are shipped directly to the clinics, not through the county, something that may have contributed to some of the confusion.
Ottmer said vaccinations are first-come-first-serve, and all a patient has to do is walk in and fill out a form before getting a vaccine.
As his mother worked on the form, 11-year-old Aiden Dorsey waited patiently for his turn. He patrolled the waiting room watching other children receive their vaccines.
“I’m not really nervous,” he said.
Like Morgan Sydor, Dorsey is not a big fan of shots, and the painless nature of the nasal spray worked for him.
“It just felt a little tickly, it didn’t really hurt,” he said.
Though the clinic has been busy, Ottmer said, it only takes 30 seconds for medical staff to administer the nasal spray vaccine.
Potential patients between the ages of 2 and 21 can receive the nasal vaccine from Bainbridge Pediatrics.
Ottmer said the nasal vaccine works on everyone between the ages of 2 and 50 except for pregnant women and people with asthma or chronic illnesses.
Ottmer said the clinic is expecting to receive shots of the vaccine this week or next, but it’s still uncertain when the injectabile vaccine will arrive.
“Until we have it in our hands we’re not counting on it,” she said.
Though the vaccine is beginning to arrive, the onset of the H1N1 strain coupled with the seasonal flu will make for a difficult flu season, according to the Center for Disease Control.
The CDC said the seasonal flu typically causes about 36,000 death and 200,000 hospitalizations every year, mostly among older adults and high-risk groups.
Last week, the White House released a report that an estimated 30,000 to 90,000 people could die from the H1N1 this season because people lack immunity to the H1N1 strain. Early estimates from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology predict H1N1 may infect half the U.S. population and hospitalize 1.8 million patients.
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Vaccine supply
For more information about Bainbridge Pediatrics’ vaccine supply and clinic times, visit the clinic’s Web site. Clinic employees encourage patients to check the Web site in lieu of calling to reduce call volume.
