Kids slow vaccination pace at Langford H1N1 clinic
Hundreds of parents and kids lined up at Westshore Town Centre last Friday. Early in the day, three lineups led to confusion.
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Updated: November 10, 2009 6:51 AM
Expanded eligibility expected next week
Fewer people than expected continue to be immunized against the H1N1 flu at the Westshore Town Centre clinic.
Roughly 1,600 people were vaccinated during the Friday and Saturday clinic. That’s in addition to the 2,220 people seen the week before. Vancouver Island Health Authority had initially expected up to 2,500 people a day.
“I don’t think we were able to immunize everyone that showed up (this past weekend),” said Sandra Herbison, VIHA public health unit manager. “The reason for that is our priority group right now includes children.”
It takes at least three times as long to immunize a child or infant than it does an adult, she said. Most parents are coming in with more than one child, resulting in more paperwork.
“With a child a little more time is needed. The way you administer the vaccine is different,” she said.
People were continuing to line up well in advance of the clinics, but all that does it slow the whole system down, Herbison said. Typically people should expect to wait a minimum of two hours.
“At best we would start handing out (time slot) tickets a half an hour before the clinic starts,” she said. “There is no advantage to being there prior to that. Our attempt is to give people a timeframe of when they can return. When they return there should be no lineup (outside).”
To help the lines move faster, more staff will be trained to administer the vaccine to children. Right now RNs are focusing on adults while public health nurses attend to children, Herbison said.
“It takes some of our people time away from immunizing to do the training, but I think we will all benefit,” she said.
One hour into the wait on Friday, some in line expressed confusion over how the system worked. It’s a little confusing with multiple lineups and no signs directing people to which line they should be in when they first arrive, said Tawny Artel. “It was just not very organized,” she said.
Artel had her worries about the vaccine for her one-year-old daughter but is trusting the information provided by the health authority.
“It think of course it’s a difficult decision to make as a parent,” Artel said. “If she got sick and I didn’t (get her a shot) I would feel very, very guilty.”
Protecting a child is what brought Cherie Curry to the line too. Her daughter can’t get the shot because she is too young so both mom and dad are going to get it.
“I am a nursing student and my husband is a physiotherapist so we are constantly in contact with people,” she said. If the vaccine can stop her daughter or someone else from getting sick, it’s the right thing to do, she added.
The West Shore clinics are immunizing high-risk groups, which includes people younger than 65 with chronic health conditions such as asthma, pregnant women and people who live in isolated communities.
Children between the age of six months and five years old can be immunized, certain health-care workers and care providers for infants and people with weak immune systems are also eligible.
“We anticipate that next week we will likely open it up to include school-aged children,” Herbison said. “It appears that we have enough vaccine for this week’s clinics and then we will have to take stock at the end of the week.”
If there are shortages in supply, the worst-case scenario would be cancelling clinics until the next vaccine delivery, Herbison said. Up-to-date information on vaccine clinics can be found at www.viha.ca/h1n1.
reporter@goldstreamgazette.com
H1N1 clinic dates
Westshore Town Centre, (currently for high-risk patients. See www.viha.ca/h1n1 for criteria):
Nov. 13, 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 14, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 19, 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 20, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 23, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 24, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 27, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 28, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Dec. 3, 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Dec. 4, 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Dec. 5, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Dec. 11, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Dec. 12, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Dec. 17, 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 18, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Dec. 19, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
