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Jacob Hosford, 4, of Middletown, left, looks at his brother Aaron, 2, while he sits on mom Nicole's lap to get the nasal spray vaccine for the H1N1 virus at the first children's clinic for 'swine flu' in Middletown. The clinic was located in the Municipal Building and was for children from Middletown, Middlefield, Cromwell, Durham and Haddam (BETTINA HANSEN / HARTFORD COURANT / October 15, 2007) |
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Swine Flu Vaccine
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MIDDLETOWN -
Four-year-old Andrew Thompson carried his stuffed kitty to Middletown's first swine flu clinic Thursday, but he wasn't scared.
Andrew remained calm while a health care professional sprayed the H1N1 vaccine mist into his nostrils, then he enjoyed his reward — a tangerine-flavored lollipop.
The free clinic — which also vaccinated children from Cromwell, Durham, Haddam and Middlefield — was only for children aged 2 to 4, one of the high-risk groups for H1N1. Because those children must get two doses, a second clinic will serve the same age range next Thursday.
"This is definitely the first of many to come," said Salvatore Nesci, the city's chief public health sanitarian.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell attended a similar clinic for toddlers Thursday in Old Saybrook.
"We expect to see many more clinics around the state as shipments continue to come in to doctors and other health care providers," she said in a news release.
More than 83,000 doses of both the shots and the intranasal vaccines have come into Connecticut, according to the state Department of Public Health, and several thousand more doses are expected every week.
As with other clinics during these first few weeks of dispensing the vaccines, the Middletown Health Department, the lead agency in a state-designated, five-member "mass dispensing area," will first serve high-risk groups — including pregnant women and health care workers — then the general public, Nesci said. Vaccine recipients aged 10 and older need only one dose.
Dr. Joseph Havlicek, the health department's director, said the nasal mist contains no preservatives — a concern among parents of autistic children. Havlicek said that although the preservatives in vaccines have not been proven to cause autism, some parents fear that they do.
The Middletown department had 700 doses Thursday and served 52 children. Clinics for the general public have not been scheduled yet.
Andrew's mother, Patricia Thompson, said she brought her son to the clinic because his pediatrician didn't have the vaccine. A resident of Haddam's Higganum section, Thompson has another son, 6-year-old Connor, who was not eligible for Thursday's clinic.
Thompson told her younger son what to expect before they arrived in city hall, where the vaccines were administered. Andrew said he had no worries as he waited outside the common council's chambers. Afterward, he strode out, unfazed, ready to tackle the rest of his day.
Jessica Iozzo, of Cromwell, brought her 2-year-old daughter, Aiddah, to the clinic. Aiddah also was unflappable.
"We use the nasal spray at home all the time, so she's used to it," Iozzo said.
Iozzo, a pregnant labor-and-delivery nurse, is also in the high risk group and has already received a seasonal flu shot.
"I'm going to be working with a high-risk population and she's high risk," Iozzo said of her daughter. "I want her to be protected."
Andrew remained calm while a health care professional sprayed the H1N1 vaccine mist into his nostrils, then he enjoyed his reward — a tangerine-flavored lollipop.
The free clinic — which also vaccinated children from Cromwell, Durham, Haddam and Middlefield — was only for children aged 2 to 4, one of the high-risk groups for H1N1. Because those children must get two doses, a second clinic will serve the same age range next Thursday.
"This is definitely the first of many to come," said Salvatore Nesci, the city's chief public health sanitarian.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell attended a similar clinic for toddlers Thursday in Old Saybrook.
"We expect to see many more clinics around the state as shipments continue to come in to doctors and other health care providers," she said in a news release.
More than 83,000 doses of both the shots and the intranasal vaccines have come into Connecticut, according to the state Department of Public Health, and several thousand more doses are expected every week.
As with other clinics during these first few weeks of dispensing the vaccines, the Middletown Health Department, the lead agency in a state-designated, five-member "mass dispensing area," will first serve high-risk groups — including pregnant women and health care workers — then the general public, Nesci said. Vaccine recipients aged 10 and older need only one dose.
Dr. Joseph Havlicek, the health department's director, said the nasal mist contains no preservatives — a concern among parents of autistic children. Havlicek said that although the preservatives in vaccines have not been proven to cause autism, some parents fear that they do.
The Middletown department had 700 doses Thursday and served 52 children. Clinics for the general public have not been scheduled yet.
Andrew's mother, Patricia Thompson, said she brought her son to the clinic because his pediatrician didn't have the vaccine. A resident of Haddam's Higganum section, Thompson has another son, 6-year-old Connor, who was not eligible for Thursday's clinic.
Thompson told her younger son what to expect before they arrived in city hall, where the vaccines were administered. Andrew said he had no worries as he waited outside the common council's chambers. Afterward, he strode out, unfazed, ready to tackle the rest of his day.
Jessica Iozzo, of Cromwell, brought her 2-year-old daughter, Aiddah, to the clinic. Aiddah also was unflappable.
"We use the nasal spray at home all the time, so she's used to it," Iozzo said.
Iozzo, a pregnant labor-and-delivery nurse, is also in the high risk group and has already received a seasonal flu shot.
"I'm going to be working with a high-risk population and she's high risk," Iozzo said of her daughter. "I want her to be protected."
no one got the shot yet because it isn't available, plus only "healthy children" can get the mist version of the flu vaccine...those with asthma & diabetes, for example must wait until the state receives the "shot" version the vaccine.
SueJ5 (10/16/2009, 10:04 PM )