Status Report on H1N1 Clinics

Last Wednesday, many of us sat in lines for 2-3 hours to get vaccinated against the H1N1 (Swine) flu with the limited supply in Montgomery County.  Today, in Rockville, the lines are just as tremendous, maybe even more so. So, if you're heading out to the Piccard Drive Health Center, 1335 Piccard Drive, Rockville, come prepared with coffee and snacks. You've got a ton of folks in front of you. Also, this just in at 10 a.m.: the Piccard Drive Health Center is OUT of the injectable vaccines. They started the day with only 200 doses.

Here's the scene via Ch. 5:



The next opportunities for getting vaccinated through the county are at high schools for the next four Wednesday evenings from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., starting next week. Here, again, are the locations:

• Northwood High School
  919 University Boulevard West, Silver Spring
• Northwest High School
  13501 Richter Farm Road, Germantown
• Rockville High School
  2100 Baltimore Road, Rockville

In addition, most area pediatricians still report that they are awaiting shipments of H1N1 vaccines and many are currently out of the seasonal flu vaccines.

Also around town, I've heard some parental confusion about how the H1N1 vaccines should be administered. Here's a rundown via the CDC:

• Pregnant woman should get the H1N1 shots, not nasal sprays, which are not approved for pregnant women. H1N1 shots are made with killed virus, versus the nasal sprays, which are manufactured with live virus. It is okay to get both the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 shot  on the same day so long as they are given in different arms. The shots can be given at any time during pregnancy.
• Nursing mothers can get either the nasal spray or the shot.
• Children ages 6 months to 9 years old need two doses of H1N1. These should be administered 28 days apart. People ages 10 and up can receive just one dose.
• Healthy children ages 2 to 24 can receive either the H1N1 nasal spray or the shot. Because of limited supply at the county clinic in Silver Spring last week, the shots were reserved only for people with underlying health conditions that prevent them from receiving the nasal spray and their caretakers.
• The vaccine is made with thimerosal; the county department of health advises that you get a doctor's prescription if you want thimerosal-free vaccine. However, those vaccines have not yet become available.