H1N1 Vaccine

My friend Denise was joking that we used to wait in lines like this for concert tickets.  Now that we are parents, we do this for our kids. 

Both Chloe and Keith are high-risk for Swine Flu.  But with Keith’s lung issues in the past, I didn’t want to chance him getting this.  Chloe is in school now, and that opens up the chances of bringing it home.  My mommy gut said to get it.  I don’t normally vaccinate for the seasonal flu, and still haven’t for Chloe.  But I have for Keith.  So when this vaccine opened up to the community this last weekend, I decided to go for it.  I had several parent-friends join me in line, as we all have the same concerns for our kiddos.

So, the line above is at 7:30am.  This is a hospital in the background.  We were in line to get into the main doors in the distance of the picture.  Inoculations were to start at 9am.  And arriving at 7:30am was a GOOD choice.  This is NOTHING compared to the line that accumulated after we got there.  It filled the parking lot – 3,500 people.  Getting there at 7:30am only kept us there for 4 hours.  The kids finally got in to get the vaccine at 11:30am.  I can’t imagine the wait if we had come any later.  The first guy in line was there at 3:30am….

The kids were good sports.  Denise was able to bring Kate with her at 7:30am.  My kids came with Phil to join the line at about 9:30am.

They busied themselves with their “journals” – Leap Frog computers.  They all had their own. 

This worked for a good while.  After about 1 1/2 hours, they started to get a little stir-crazy. 

Understandable for a 3 & 5 year old! 

Chloe has a lot of fear around her personal space being penetrated.  So the thought of even a nasal mist freaked her out.  Phil did a good job of keeping her calm in line and holding her together.  When it was over, she talked about it like it was “fun”!  Hopefully she will feel that same way when we go back in a month for the booster!!