9,000 get H1N1 vaccines at College of DuPage
Vaccinating 9,000 people within a seven-hour span is a major undertaking, but from the beginning, Saturday's mass H1N1 flu inoculation at the College of DuPage moved smoothly and rapidly.
"At first when I saw all the people, I thought it was going to be a disaster," said Glen Ellyn resident Kailonnie Dunsmore. "But it's really quite impressive how fast they're getting everyone through."
With 64 nurses delivering the vaccinations and another 50 DuPage County Health Department staffers directing residents to the various stations, the process took an average of 15 to 20 minutes from parking to inoculation.
"We have become masters of moving people," said Maureen McHugh, the health department's executive director.
It was the first time the health department had done so many vaccinations at once. Before Saturday's clinic, about 1,600 a day were receiving vaccinations.
Appointments for Saturday's round of shots were staggered throughout the day so that everyone wouldn't arrive when the clinic opened at 8 a.m. Because supply has finally caught up with demand, residents were able to choose whether they wanted the traditional shot or the new mist vaccine, McHugh said. Residents with underlying medical conditions were not given a choice and had to take the shot.
McHugh said initial reluctance to use the mist vaccination has been overcome.
"The public has been educated about the mist and I'd bet that we've provided more flu mist vaccinations than any other county in the state," she said.
About 90,000 residents have received H1N1 vaccinations through the department since the vaccines became available a couple of months ago, health department officials said.
Starting Tuesday, the vaccines will be available to any resident over six months of age. McHugh said she was a little worried that Saturday's clinic might lose some customers now that the vaccine is becoming so readily available, but she was proved wrong by the throngs that appeared.
Health department officials continue to monitor cases of the disease. After the initial appearance last spring, they prepared for the second wave in the fall and based on a similar pandemic in the 1950s, they are preparing for another spike in January. That's because younger Americans will be returning to school after the holidays, McHugh said.
That's why Naperville resident Stephanie Dionesotes was getting her shot Saturday. She has children who attend Naperville North High School.
"You hear in the news about how easily it is spread in places like schools," she said.
The health department is holding a second mass-inoculation clinic today at Downers Grove South High School and it continues to offer vaccinations daily at clinics throughout the county. For more information, visit protectdupage.org.