Downers Grove hospital offering H1N1 shots for expectant mothers

Bobbie Dzado's unborn son apparently doesn't like needles, either.

"Oh no, he's starting to kick," said the Woodridge mom-to-be.

Dzado herself wasn't too keen on getting her H1N1 flu shot Friday either, but she said it's something she wanted to ensure the health of her second child as well as herself. Dzado was one of the dozens of pregnant women who received the vaccination at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove on Friday.

"I've been hearing a lot about it, and basically I'm here at my doctor's strong recommendation," she said.

Any expectant mothers whose obstetricians are affiliated with the hospital may receive a free injectable vaccine, hospital officials said. The hospital will continue inoculations next Friday as well. The shots are available from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"We were busy to start, with 10 to 15 women waiting when we opened this morning," said Mary Kay Lewandowski, the hospital's manager of the birth center and maternal fetal diagnostics. "Since then, they've been trickling in."

The hospital handles about 1,800 births each year. Lewandowski said they have a large enough supply to inoculate 500 women both days. Some expectant mothers have already received the shot through other means, she said. Pregnant women are among the Center for Disease Control's priority population for the vaccinations. They can only receive the injectable vaccine because the mist version contains a live virus that could harm the fetus.

Plainfield resident Purnima Patil is expecting her first child and canceled an appointment for an H1N1 shot at a county clinic because she could receive an inoculation at the hospital sooner.

"A friend had this and she said she literally collapsed from it, so I wanted to be safe," Patil said.

In addition to the vaccinations at the hospital, the DuPage County Health Department announced Friday the creation of two new clinics that will perform mass inoculations. The clinics can vaccinate up to 9,000 people a day, county officials said.

The new clinics will be open for only a day. The first clinic will be Dec. 12 at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. The second is slated for Dec. 13 at Downers Grove South High School. Up to 60 nurses will be on hand to distribute the vaccines, officials said.

Currently, the department's three vaccination clinics can handle up to 800 inoculations a day.

Both mist and injectable vaccinations will be available at the clinics, officials said. The new clinics will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and appointments are now being accepted 24 hours a day at (866) 311-1123. Walk-ins will not be accepted. Residents who fall in the priority group are eligible for the vaccinations.

For information about priority groups, new clinics or making an appointment at another clinic, visit protectdupage.org.