None are turned away at area flu clinics

Long lines of senior citizens and their families wait Friday morning at the Moose Lodge in Princeton to receive their flu shots. The Bureau County Health Department distributed almost 400 vaccines Friday to high risk seniors. (BCR Photo/Lisa Tunney)

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BUREAU COUNTY -- The early birds got the first worms, or in this case the first flu shots. Elizabeth Lange of Princeton arrived at the Princeton Moose Lodge at 9:30 a.m. Friday to get in line for the third high-risk flu clinic given this fall by the Bureau County Health Department. When she arrived, Lange said there were already another 25 cars in the parking lot with people waiting for the clinic doors to open. Some of those people had been waiting in the parking lot since 5:30 a.m., Lange said. By 11:30 a.m., about 100 people were in line and the clinic doors were opened. As the line of senior citizens inched its way to the Moose Lodge doors, Craig Beintema, director of the Bureau County Health Department, handed out clothes pins to the seniors. Each clothes pin represented one vaccine dosage. Beintema said he had about 400 clothes pins to distribute and expected to get all the flu shots given within a couple hours. Additional staff was on hand to man the clinic so the elderly wouldn't have to wait too long, Beintema said. Three hours later, Pat Lebahn, communicable disease coordinator for the county health department, said the clinic gave 400 flu shots. No one was turned away, she said. The health department had previous flu clinics in Manlius, with 220 shots given, and in Ladd, with 62 shots given. No one was turned away at those clinics either, Lebahn said. The county health department had originally scheduled 21 flu clinics and was prepared to administer 4,000 flu shots this flu season. With the national shortage of flu vaccinations, the county health department has received only about 25 percent of what it had originally planned. The flu vaccine shortage is the result of a license suspension for the Chiron Corporation that produces the vaccine. On Oct. 5, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention was notified by Chiron that none of its influence vaccine, which is produced in Liverpool, England, would be available for distribution in the United States for the 2004-2005 flu season. Beintema said he is hopeful the county will still receive more vaccines. The health department has scheduled a flu clinic Wednesday for high risk children under 18 years of age. The health department has also received vaccines for nursing home residents. Due to the lower number of available flu vaccines, area hospitals are making adjustments to protect its patients and the public. Deb Patyk, infection control coordinator for Illinois Valley Community Hospital, has announced the hospital administration has decided against giving hospital tours because of the flu vaccine shortage and the lack of health protection from not being able to vaccinate IVCH employees, patients and visitors. The public is asked not to visit patients if they (the public) are sick or if there is a chance the visitor's own health might be compromised, Patyk said. Kristie Bluemer, co-marketing director for St. Margaret's Hospital in Spring Valley, said St. Margaret's is also not conducting tours this flu season due to the vaccine shortage. St. Margaret's is working closely with the Bureau County Health Department to make a combined effort to get available vaccines to the high risk people, she said. St. Margaret's is also asking the public to be cautious about visiting the hospital if they are sick, Bluemer said. Connie Doran, marketing director for Perry Memorial Hospital in Princeton, said the Princeton hospital will continue to give tours to all age groups this flu season. If a child or adult on a tour has a cough or cold, the hospital may make some adjustments in the tour or ask the person with the cough to wear a hospital mask, she said. Concerning flu clinics, Doran said the hospital did administer flu vaccines Tuesday and Wednesday and has additional flu clinics set for Monday, Tuesday and Nov. 10. However, the upcoming clinics are full and a waiting list has been started, she said. If more vaccines are made available, the hospital will call those on the waiting list, Doran said. "We really hate to prioritize like this, but unfortunately everyone in the country is having to do this right now," Doran said.