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First Go-Round: Parents and children line up as Forsyth County begins administering swine-flu vaccine
Journal Photo by Walt Unks
Dillon Hayes, 10, gets the H1N1 nasal vaccine at the Forsyth County health department, which received 1,700 doses for distribution.
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Published: October 14, 2009
Yesterday was "V-Day" for the Bauserman and Heiney family.
Five of their six children, ranging in ages from 2 to 16, were among the first to receive the H1N1, or swine-flu, vaccine in Forsyth County.
Close to 200 children and their parents were waiting in line at 1 p.m. when the Forsyth County Department of Public Health began administering 1,700 doses of the nasal mist vaccine at its offices at 799 N. Highland Ave. The first wave of doses was just for children ages 2 to 18.
Dr. Tim Monroe, the county's health director, had expected the department to run out of its initial vaccine shipment yesterday, but shortly before the vaccination clinic closed at 8 p.m. about 1,600 doses had been administered.
Leftover doses will be combine with the next batch of vaccine, which is expected later this week or early next week
Even though Amy Heiney placed enough value on the vaccine to pull four of her children out of school, the focal point of the effort was on the child who couldn't get the dosage -- 6-week-old Sarah Heiney.
"We had eight weeks of recurring strep throat earlier this year," Heiney said. "We didn't want a repeat of that with the swine flu, especially with an infant in the house. We have children in four different schools where there have been cases, including at Whitaker Elementary."
On Oct. 5, about 20.4 percent of the 615 students at Whitaker either stayed at home or left early. Although students may have been out because of other types of illness, school officials presume that many of those students were sick from the H1N1 virus.
"That outbreak convinced me this was the right thing to do," Amy Heiney said.
Theo Helm, a spokesman for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, said that overall absences are down this week compared with last week.
Kelly Bauserman, the oldest of Heiney's children, said that taking the nasal mist was quick and easy. "Normally, I wouldn't have gone for it, but with an infant in the house, I didn't have an option," she said.
The H1N1 vaccine will not provide protection against the seasonal flu, and health officials encourage people to get both kinds of vaccine -- as the Bauserman and Heiney family did.
Eventually, there will be enough doses available so that everyone who wants to be vaccinated can be, Monroe said. Children ages 9 and younger will have to have a booster shot, either the nasal mist or an injection, within four weeks of the first dosage.
Although the health department is offering the vaccine at no charge, if a child has insurance or Medicaid, parents are asked to bring their insurance or Medicaid cards so that the county can recover some of the costs of the vaccination process.
Dillon Hayes, 10, wasn't too thrilled to be taking the nasal mist, scrunching his face and tightly shutting his eyes as the dose was administered. "I didn't like the part when the spray went up my nose, but other than that, it was OK," he said.
Mitzi Hayes said that all the news of a potential swine-flu outbreak persuaded her to get the vaccine for Dillon and his 12-year-old sister, Crickett. "Hopefully this will help build up an immunity in them so they'll be OK over time," she said.
rcraver@wsjournal.com
727-7376
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