Vaccine wait prolongs H1N1 fears, concerns

When it comes to the H1N1 vaccine, Cynthia Giorgio has decided to wait.

Her two children - ages 6 and 8 - fall into the priority groups that health officials have recommended get the vaccine against H1N1, or swine flu.

But Giorgio had her own reservations about the vaccine before she tried getting through the county Health Department's phone lines to make appointments, and even before she learned her children had to get two doses of the vaccine's injectable form.

So she added her kids to the waiting list at her pediatrician's office while she decides if she wants them to have the shot or not. They've already been vaccinated against the seasonal flu through the nasal spray, she said.

"(The vaccine) is so difficult to get right now, it almost makes the decision for you," said Giorgio, of Davidsonville. "As a mother, I'm very concerned about giving it, and I'm also concerned about not giving it. But it not being available has given me more time to think about it. And those poor children are washing their hands so many times a day."

On Nov. 2, the county Health Department completed its latest phase of appointments for the H1N1 vaccine. This time, 2,100 appointments were filled in six hours, the largest number of vaccine doses availability thus far.

The vaccine is only being offered to priority groups at the moment, creating greater demand for the vaccine among the rest of the population. This, in turn, has put a greater strain on physicians and specialists, who try to respond to nonpriority patients' requests for the vaccine and address their concerns about the illness.

Health officials have advised that everyone get two vaccines this year: one against the seasonal flu and another against the swine flu. Both vaccines are made through similar processes and health officials have emphasized the safety of the vaccines.

By the thousands

At Nighttime Care Centers, which operates urgent care centers in Crofton, Gambrills, Pasadena and Annapolis, the number of patients currently being seen is about 200 percent above the amount forecasted for this time of year. Operators take appointments by phone and distribute patients to various sites.

The influx of patients has put an added strain on staff, which has to treat ill patients as well as alleviate the fears of those with low-level flu symptoms. Some serious symptoms to watch for are fever, chills, vomiting and dehydration.

"We're seeing on average, every weekend, thousands of people," said Dr. Robert Graw, Nighttime's medical director and chief executive officer. "I don't think we should be cavalier and say, 'Don't come.' ... I don't think you should come because your friend might have the flu. (Patients) should come when they're getting sicker, and that usually takes a day or two. If you feel like you've been hit by a truck," you they should come in.

In the past month, the staff at Annapolis Allergy and Asthma has had 18 pediatric patients with the H1N1 develop secondary pneumonia. Asthmatic patients can't take the nasal spray form of the H1N1 vaccine, so Dr. Duane Gels has encouraged his patients to get the shot, particularly if they've been wheezing in the past year.

"We're in the accelerated phase where more and more people are getting this virus," Gels said. "It seems to be unpredetermined who these people are that are going to have trouble."

Both Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis and Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie have implemented regulations to cope with the swine flu. Last month, BWMC reported seeing 40 patients a day with flulike symptoms, which is about triple the number from last year. AAMC officials also adjusted visitation policies that restrict visitation by minors on a case-by-case basis.

"There have been many patients seen with flulike symptoms at AAMC, most having symptoms not severe enough to need hospitalization," nurse Anne Van Waes, the hospital's infection control coordinator, wrote in an e-mail. "Like I'm sure many hospitals around the state have done, AAMC has conducted emergency management drills surrounding influenza to practice initiating an alternate care site near the (emergency department), within our hospital, if the emergency department becomes overwhelmed with patients."

Risky business

Some people are unsure of their risk category.

Crownsville resident Tim Simpkins had a heart attack in January. He planned to check with his doctor to see if he should get the vaccine, but overall he hasn't been concerned about getting vaccinated against either the seasonal flu or the H1N1.

"I know how hard it is to get now," Simpkins said. "I know I should at least do a flu shot, but I don't know. I have been (being careful). I watch what I touch and just keep clean. That's all I do."

As a breast cancer survivor, Christa Grim doesn't know what the vaccine means for her. She has been free of the disease for nearly four years and is no longer undergoing chemotherapy, so her immune system should be like everyone else's, she said. Grim is set to see her oncologist in December, but there have been no calls beforehand to tell her to get the swine flu vaccine. However, she did make sure to get her children the seasonal flu vaccine.

"As a breast cancer survivor, I've always been weird about chemicals," said Grim, of Davidsonville. "I'm sure (the vaccine) is fine. I'm usually not one of those propaganda type of people. I felt like I didn't know enough about it and it's not something I felt comfortable to give to my kids."