Thousands wait hours for vaccine

Michael Goudeau surveyed the line stretched Saturday afternoon around the building at the Southern Nevada Health District.

The bad news was he was in back of everyone else and the heat was pushing 90 degrees. But overall, he was encouraged by the turnout.

"I'm happy to see this," Goudeau said. It is "good news for all of us."

Goudeau was one of about 2,680 Southern Nevada residents who withstood lines that at times lasted longer than two hours to receive the first delivery of the injectable H1N1 vaccine. The FluMist inhaled version also was offered.

Goudeau was at the health district's main center, 625 Shadow Lane, so his 10-year-old son, Joseph, who has asthma, could get vaccinated.

Some people waiting in line said it snaked around the building much earlier than 10 a.m., when the doors officially opened.

One woman said she stopped by in the morning and the line appeared to "wrap around the building twice." She came back later when the wait was less intimidating.

Gwen Osburn, community health nurse at the health district, said Saturday's turnout was unexpected. She described it in one word: "Wow!"

Osburn said nurses vaccinated more than 300 people in the first hour of the clinic. She said although the wait Saturday morning was estimated at two hours and change, by the afternoon people were getting into the building from outside in 30 minutes.

Saturday's turnout was in stark contrast to the first week the FluMist was made available. As of Thursday morning, only about 1,500 FluMist vaccinations had been given at the district.

Osburn acknowledged that some people might be afraid of the FluMist. The nasal vaccine is made with a weakened live virus, tamed in the laboratory so it cannot cause illness.

The shot contains a dead virus.

Osburn likened the belief the FluMist can cause illness to an urban legend.

"It's like that myth that you check into a hotel and wake up and your kidney is missing," she said. "Everybody's heard that myth, but nobody actually knows anybody who that has happened to."

The health district has received more than 48,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, including the initial FluMist delivery of more than 20,000 doses. About 11,000 of those vaccines have been distributed to Clark County doctors' offices that serve at-risk populations.

The priority groups eligible to get vaccinated Saturday included pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months, health care and emergency medical personnel with direct patient contact, children 6 months through 4 years old, and children 5 through 18 who have chronic medical conditions.

Starting Monday, the health district will continue to offer both types of vaccines daily to the same priority groups between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The vaccines are free.

Osburn didn't have official numbers of how many people received injections compared with FluMist. She's not worried about running out of injectable vaccine, though.

On Saturday, temperatures reached 90 degrees in the afternoon, only a few degrees shy of the high for Oct 17. A lot of babies, young children and pregnant women were waiting it out.

Teresa Motley came to the health district to get vaccinations for her three daughters, ranging in ages from 2 to 5. She said enduring the heat was well worth it.

"I had to make a sunscreen run," she said while waiting in line with her ex-husband. "The line was intimidating, but we had to wait. We didn't have a second thought about it."

George Caballero came to the health district with his wife and three children, who ranged in ages from 3 months to 9 years old.

Caballero, holding his infant son, George Jr., said he was heartened by Southern Nevada's response to the H1N1 outbreak.

"People really care. They want to control the problem, instead of adding to it."

As Caballero was singing the community's praises, George Jr. interrupted with an objection.

He puked on his bib.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.