More vaccine doses elusive

1,400 wait in cold to receive flu shots

Chalmer and Marilyn Martin weren’t about to miss their chance to get flu shots Saturday.

At 2:30 a.m., the Martins set up lawn chairs outside the main entrance to Free State High School to be the first in line when the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department began administering vaccinations more than seven hours later.

“I’ve got breathing problems,” said Chalmer Martin, 75, of Lawrence. “If I get the flu and pneumonia, I’m dead.”

The Martins became the first of 1,432 people who received flu shots Saturday during the Flu-X emergency distribution exercise. By the time the vaccinations started, volunteers had counted nearly 1,000 people already in a line stretching from the high school’s entrance at 4700 Overland Drive east along the sidewalk, then south and back to the west.

The exercise eliminated the Health Department’s supply of vaccine, but the search for more is ongoing, health officials said. Because of the nationwide vaccine shortage, the Heath Department asked that only people most at risk — including the elderly, chronically ill and children under 2 — show up for the shots.

“I thought the clinic went very well,” said Kay Kent, Health Department director. “We learned valuable information today for our emergency plan while distributing flu shots to those in need in the community.”

Rod Bremby, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said the state was continuing to assess the supply of vaccine available. “We will continue to work with the local health departments, nursing homes, and private providers to facilitate the redistribution of vaccine to the most at-risk population,” he said.

Bremby watched the flu shot exercise, then spoke to reporters during a news conference. Similar vaccination clinic exercises have been conducted in Topeka, Salina and Crawford County. All have gone well, Bremby said.

An overall assessment of the exercise will be conducted early this week, but Douglas County health officials said they also thought it went smoothly.

Patients line up for flu vaccinations during the flu clinic at Free State High School. People at the highest risk for the flu were given vaccinations during the event Saturday.

Participants’ thoughts

People standing in line offered mixed reviews. Bob Bruce and Lucy Cutler, both 61, became the second and third people in line behind the Martins. They braved the early-morning chill by wrapping themselves in blankets.

“The idea that we couldn’t sit inside was a little ridiculous,” said Cutler, of Lawrence. “I think it’s great that they are experimenting with this, but it hasn’t been that smooth.”

Cutler also noted that three portable toilets placed on the school grounds were not handicap-accessible.

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Others in line also wondered why the school couldn’t have been opened so people could line up inside and perhaps have a place to sit while they waited.

“I don’t think it makes any sense for people with canes and walkers to have to stand and wait for this,” said Lucy Price.

Price and her sister, Edwina Eisert, arrived at the school at 5 a.m. to hold places near the front of the line for their parents, G. Baley Price, 99, and Cora Lee Price, 96. The elderly Lawrence couple were brought to the line about 9:30 a.m. They sat wrapped in blankets in wheelchairs. Shortly after they arrived, Cora Price, who was visibly cold, was allowed by a volunteer to be pushed inside the school to get warm.

Joseph Kuo also sat wrapped in blankets near the entrance.

“My daughter and grandson came in from Los Angeles to help me get here,” the 82-year-old Lawrence man said. “They made a special trip.”

Worrying in line

It would have been difficult to allow so many people into the school while maintaining an orderly line, said Janelle Martin, Health Department spokeswoman. She said there were other things going on at the high school Saturday, including ACT examinations for high school students.

When the doors were opened and vaccinations began, those still arriving at the end of the line said they worried the vaccine supply would run out before they received their shots.

Marlene Childers, 68, Perry, already had spent time searching for other locations that might have the flu vaccine to no avail. If she didn’t get her shot, she knew who she was going to blame.

“I’m going to go home and cuss (President) Bush every day,” Childers said.

If you can’t get a flu shot, use common sense to avoid getting the flu. The key is to stop the spread of germs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:¢ Cough or sneeze into a tissue, then throw it away.¢ Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for 15 to 20 seconds, about the time it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice.¢ If you don’t have soap and water, use alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers.¢ Avoid close contact with people who are sick, and when you are sick, keep your distance from others.¢ Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.If you still are seeking a vaccination, call the Health Department’s clearinghouse at 843-0721 during weekday business hours.

Others at the back of the line took a wait-and-see attitude. “We’ll just take our chances; that’s all we can do,” said Laurel Hunsinger, 71, Lawrence.

Gordy Muertz was worried about enduring a long wait in line and then being told the vaccine was gone.

“I would hate to be here for a couple of hours and then find out they are out,” said Muertz, 61, a Rapid City, S.D., resident who was visiting a son in Lawrence.

‘Pretty well-organized’

Mary Martin, 72, and Juanita Hodges, 71, said they were relieved after receiving their shots.

“I had been really nervous I wouldn’t get one,” Hodges said.

The two women and others commended the Health Department and volunteers for the way they handled the vaccination exercise.

Patricia Finney, of Lawrence, gets her flu shot from Valerie Vieux. Finney's daughter Marsha Morrissey is in back. About 1,400 high-risk people received vaccinations during the clinic Saturday at Free State High School.

“I thought it was pretty well-organized,” Martin said.

Shortly before 2 p.m. with the vaccine running low, the line outside the school entrance stretched only to the Firebird statue near the curb. Volunteers discouraged anyone else from waiting.

Paul Kitos, 77, and his wife, Gwyn, 75, were among those turned away. They took it in stride.

“We’ll just have to look and see what we can find somewhere else,” Gwyn Kitos said.

A total of 44 Health Department employees worked in the exercise along with about 160 community volunteers who directed traffic and parking and watched the lines. The last flu shot was administered at 3:17 p.m.

The Health Department will continue to serve as a clearinghouse and resource to the community by helping the public and clinicians locate available vaccine, said Loree Cordova, a family physician who works as a consultant to the Health Department.