Thousands wait to get vaccine
Published Friday October 30th, 2009
H1N1 | Province tells people not to panic
About 2,000 people lined up outside New Maryland Elementary School on Thursday afternoon and evening to get the H1N1 vaccine, prompting the Department of Health to ask the public for patience and co-operation.
A fleet of cars jammed side streets, public parking lots and grass fields near the school, and a long line of potential vaccine recipients snaked its way out the front doors, around the corner and down the lengthy pathway to the nearby ball field.
District 2 RCMP members assisted with traffic control and responded to complaints about illegal parking on private properties.
Fredericton resident Lisa Murdock waited patiently in line with daughters Maggie, 4, and Lauren, 22 months.
She said she wanted to have her children vaccinated as soon as possible because they’re under the age of 10, which means they’ll need to get two shots before they’re fully protected.
“We wanted to get them done early, and our youngest has had some health issues over the years,” she said.
“So we were a little concerned. It’s quite a lineup. But worth the wait, I think.”
Children played on the lawn as parents shuffled their feet and chatted with each other, or to friends and family by cellphone.
Danielle Phillips, the province’s spokeswoman for the pandemic planning effort, said it’s important that New Brunswickers not panic.
She said there will be enough vaccine for everybody who would like to get the shot, and the province will continue to announce public clinics as it receives units of the vaccine.
“Right now, we have a total of approximately 120,000 doses between the three shipments (we’ve received),” she said.
“We’re expecting more shipments to arrive in the coming days.”
Phillips said she understands that citizens want to protect themselves from the pandemic virus as quickly as possible, but it’s impossible to immunize everyone immediately.
“We need a little bit of co-operation and a little bit of patience.’’ She said people should continue to consult the government’s flu website, which can be found at www.gnb.ca/flu, or call the toll-free hotline at 1- 800-580-0038.
“Clinics are going to be scheduled throughout November and December, so this is a massive effort. It’s a lengthy process,” she said.
“If you’re a member of the target groups, please go. If you’re not, please wait your turn.”
Maurice Lavigne was among the first people to line up at the school.
He said he and his family arrived at about 2 p.m. to wait for the H1N1 shot because he works with the public in a private medical clinic.
“Since we do medical work — I’m an acupuncturist and (my wife) works with a doctor — this is the first time that we could really come for the shot,” he said.
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Things done wrong:
Right away. Why were people not told to print out the consent forms needed in advance to expedite the process?!?!?!
Make thousands of people wait out in the COLD, including infants and young children!!! If you are trying to stave off a mass illness, you do not achieve it by making people stand in the cold for 5 hours.
Use pretty much the smallest facility you can find that is public. If this is such an emergency and it is so important for people to get this shot ASAP, why is this not a 7 day a week operation at the Aitken center where there is REAL parking and the ability to keep people INDOORS!!! (Or FHS or LHHS or the new sports complex, etc...)
Total crap. We are NOT ready for a REAL killer pandemic...
Still kickin' too, almost 96 hours post-vaccine.
And I wonder whose bright idea it was to use NM elementary. Let's see... we need a school in a very tight neighbourhood CHECK, and one that can hold about 100 people at a time CHECK. for a province that is supposedly so well prepared for this pandemic, they really dropped the ball yesterday!