Lineup greets 1st H1N1 clinic

A large crowd gathered outside a clinic in Elmsdale on Tuesday to get the first shots of the H1N1 vaccine available to the public in Nova Scotia.

Kathy Mauger and her three boys waited a couple of hours for the East Hants Resource Centre to open.

"As soon as I knew that the vaccine was available, I knew that my kids were going to get it," said Mauger, who is from the Dutch Settlement area.

Mauger was afraid officials might run out of the vaccine. She wanted to ensure she didn't miss it.

"We want to get it over with," she said. "We don't want the kids to miss a lot of school."

There were fewer than 30 people outside the resource centre at 8:30 a.m. By the time the clinic opened at 10 a.m., the lineup snaked through the parking lot. RCMP officers were keeping an eye on the crowd.

Krista Wood, a spokeswoman with the Colchester East Hants Health Authority, said more than 500 people had been vaccinated at the site. At about 1 p.m., fearing there were too many people in the lineup, officials asked people coming to the Elmsdale clinic to come back to the next scheduled clinic.

Wood said they were encouraging people to get vaccinated in their home districts as much as possible, without travelling to the first available clinics in the province.

Like Mauger, Tammy Prest was in a rush to get her children immunized against the H1N1 virus. She said they usually don't get the annual flu shot, but this time it's different.

"I'm very worried," said Prest. "I think this is something that we have to do because of the news with kids dying at a young age getting the swine flu."

In Ontario, a 13-year-old boy has died from the pandemic swine flu virus, health officials confirmed.

In Nova Scotia, several schools in the Halifax region have reported high levels of absenteeism due to illness, though they aren't all confirmed H1N1 cases. One woman has died since the first outbreak in April.

Outside the clinic in Elmsdale, Sheila Clarke said the two-hour wait for the vaccine was worth it.

"My daughter came home yesterday and there were 14 kids out sick in one class," said Clarke, whose 12-year-old daughter attends Riverside Education Centre in Mildford.

2nd clinic in Truro

The only other place where Nova Scotians could get the H1N1 vaccine on Tuesday was Douglas Street Elementary School in Truro, which is also run by the Colchester East Hants Health Authority. That clinic ran from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Wood said the clinic in Truro was also swamped. Officials started to turn people away at 6 p.m. to ensure they could get through the existing line of people by the time the clinic closed.

She said more than 500 people had been vaccinated before 4 p.m. and that number had likely doubled by the end of the day.

Mark Scott, director of public health services for the CEHHA, said the H1N1 clinics in his district will run for about five weeks.

"We want everyone to get the vaccine," he said. "We also ask for people's patience, as well, in recognizing that we can only vaccinate so many people at given times."

Scott isn't worried about running out of the vaccine.

"We have enough here to keep us going and the deliveries will be coming on a weekly basis as well," he said.

Mass immunization clinics in other health-care districts are set to open later this week or next. Nova Scotians can call the 811 toll-free health line or check the province's website map (see link at top right) for details.