H1N1 Vaccine Clinics Help People Throughout New York

By: BROOKE NIEMEYER

On a recent Saturday morning, a line of people, tracing around the block, waited to get inside Public School 290 in Manhattan. Some checked their watches, others flipped through the newspaper, but all of them waited to get protected against H1N1, better known as the swine flu, the most feared flu in a long time.

Lori Jackson was in line with her two children, Sarah, 7, and Michael, 9, but she was ready to give.

“This line is a joke,” Jackson said. “But I am happy that they are putting this together so we can try to stay not sick.”

Precautionary measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the virus, throughout the city by The New York City Health Department. They have set up temporary neighborhood clinics in all five boroughs, where the vaccine is offered for free.

In the beginning of November, The United States Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported almost 3,000 H1N1 flu cases and 91 deaths because of this strain of influenza, in the state of New York alone.

The swine flu has caused havoc in New York City schools because according to the CDC, children are a high risk to catch the virus. In May, 16 New York schools were closed and there have been a high number of absences this school year.

The city created a program to offer vaccinations to students at 1,342 schools. Students were given permission forms to take home to their parents in order to receive the free vaccine, which is offered as a nasal spray or injection.

The Health Department launched its public clinics on November 7, 2009. Health Department official Erin Brady said the clinic began as a way to distribute the vaccine to students from elementary schools who weren’t vaccinated by private providers or in their schools, as well as for middle and high school students wanting the vaccine.

“It’s good to get kids covered,” Jackson said. “They catch everything and pass it around.”

Teresa Martinez got her eight-year-old daughter, Rosa, vaccinated.

“We come to the park and I see the kids coughing and sneezing on each other,” Martinez said. “It is nice to know she is not going to get the swine flu from the germs.”

Brady said the community vaccination clinics did not reach capacity during the first weekend, so the Health Department decided to expand the allowed groups to more people.

Those who qualify to be vaccinated in the free clinics now include pregnant women, anyone who lives with or cares for children less than six-months-old, anyone between the ages of four and 24, and those who are 25 through 64-years of age and have underlying health conditions that increase risk of severe illness or complications.

“So many people I know have gotten sick because of this,” Nate Roberts, 33, who was in line to get the vaccine, said. “I am scared of getting super sick or dying because of the swine flu.”

Clinics will be moved around every weekend. The Health Department hopes that changing the location of the clinics each weekend will help encourage people to get vaccinated at a time when the location is closest to their neighborhood, saving time, money, and their health.