Second Dose of H1N1 Vaccine
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| Anne Kelly |
| 11/18/2009 |
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| More than 20 million Americans have been diagnosed with H1N1 since it was first identified. Health experts are looking to keep that number from climbing higher, through the H1N1 vaccine. But a lot of people who have received the shot aren`t fully immunized yet. Children under the age of nine who have received the H1N1 vaccine aren`t fully immunized until they get a second shot, or FluMist spray. That means, a lot of parents who already stood in line for their children`s first vaccine, need to head back to the clinic. A month after the H1N1 vaccine release and Bismarck Burleigh Public Health has started to calm down. Gone are the hour long lines that plagued the first two vaccine clinics, now it`s more of a 30 minute wait, or far less, if you come at the right time. A relief for parents like Malathy Connell who brought her two and a half year old son in for his second H1N1 shot this afternoon. "I`ve been watching the news and I have the little reminder thing on the refrigerator and they said it was very important, so I said `Well I went and stood in the line for the first one,` so we came for the second," says Connell. "People who had it last month certainly should be coming in now, bring their children in to see that they get vaccinated," says Vonnie Ereth, of Bismarck Burleigh Public Health. Ereth, a registered nurse, says the second vaccination is crucial if folks want to ensure their child is fully immunized against H1N1. In fact, the North Dakota Department of Health reports kids who don`t get their booster only have a 30 percent chance of being protected from the strain of flu. Ereth says she knows parents want to bring their kids in again, she just hopes they all remember to. "You hear it once and forget it so that`s why we want to keep emphasizing it over and over," says Ereth. Parents can bring their kids in as soon as 21 days after their child is first vaccinated. Connell did, because to her the alternative isn`t worth it. "He`s my only child, so I`m one of those paranoid parents and I have to have it so, here I am, getting it done," she says. The vaccine is available to anyone under 18 and anyone of any age who has a chronic condition. |
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