Fall Saturdays mean soccer. That’s true for me and throngs of other parents around Snohomish County. Last weekend, thousands of us also tried to score something more critical than any soccer win — swine flu vaccine for our kids.
At a drive-through clinic in Stanwood on Saturday, people sat in cars for hours awaiting shots or nasal mist. In Mill Creek, as many as 3,000 people were in line at the Providence Physicians Group building.
More than 22,000 people in demographic groups most at risk for the H1N1 virus got the vaccine at public clinics around the county Saturday, according to Snohomish Health District spokeswoman Suzanne Pate.
My child wasn’t one of them. That wasn’t for lack of trying.
Any concern I might have had about vaccine safety has been overshadowed by reports of deaths linked to the virus. I have also seen several of my son’s classmates suffer recently from flu.
On Friday, a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said that so far in 2009, 114 children had died from the virus, 19 in the previous week.
With that sobering news in mind, I set out for my boy’s game Saturday morning with the list of 10 swine flu shot clinics tucked in my purse. I was determined to arrive home with more than muddy soccer shoes. I wanted that vaccine for my son, and the peace of mind that I’d done all I could to keep him healthy.
His game was at Stocker Field in Snohomish. Afterward, I figured we’d stop by the free clinic at Snohomish Family Medical on Avenue D. With clinics operating 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., there was sure to be time. No luck. When we got there, still before noon, the H1N1 vaccine was gone.
A rainy drive to the Tulalip Pharmacy, another clinic site, ended the same way. A sign outside said the vaccine was gone. My next thought was the clinic at Everett’s Evergreen Middle School, but I didn’t relish a trip through traffic only to discover we were too late. So we went home to carve a pumpkin.
Sunday, I had pangs of bad-mother guilt as I read in The Herald that some folks had been in line by 3 a.m. But after fretting that I hadn’t tried hard enough, I stepped back from my own family far enough to see what a gift our community has been given.
All those people — pregnant women, young people 6 months to 24 years of age, teachers, child-care providers and those caring for babies, and adults with medical conditions that put them at high risk — all those thousands were given free doses of H1N1 vaccine almost as soon as the Snohomish Health District got it.
There is no shortage of people willing to bash government at every opportunity. I say hurray to our public health agency for its rapid, widely publicized and free distribution of swine flu vaccine.
Pate said that 4,700 doses were given to those at highest risk at free clinics Oct. 24. At least another 22,000 doses were distributed Saturday. And on Monday, 1,000 doses were available at a free clinic at the Tulalip Tribal Gym.
Monday morning, I happened to check www.snoco flu.com, a site for H1N1 flu information in the county. It listed Monday’s Tulalip shot clinic and said the wait time was 35 minutes. Luckily, my schedule allowed me to snag my son out of school. By 2 p.m., he was back in class with a Band-Aid on his left shoulder.
He was slightly sore. I was mighty grateful.
Will there be more weekend clinics? When I spoke with Pate on Tuesday morning, that decision hadn’t been made. “I can say that all the vaccine that arrives here will be given to the community,” she said. “How it’s delivered is under discussion, whether through mass vaccination clinics or routine providers, or a combination of both.”
Even with long lines and some people not getting shots, Pate said public reaction has been largely positive.
Although her agency “would love to take all the credit,” Pate said the clinics were organized in partnership with area hospitals and medical practice groups. Doctors are also business people, she said. “The fact that they were willing to face taking a loss shows the importance of getting this job done,” Pate said.
In front of us in line Monday were Laura Dalos, of Lynnwood, and her 5-year-old daughter, Emmalee. “We recently found out she has asthma,” Dalos said of the little girl with long brown hair.
As my stoic kid and I walked out, we could hear Emmalee crying. She wasn’t happy about that shot. I was happy for her.
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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