H1N1 Shots Attract Folks Near and Far

By Justin Foss, Reporter

Tools

By Daren Sukhram

Story Created: Oct 27, 2009 at 9:44 PM CST

Story Updated: Oct 28, 2009 at 9:11 PM CST

MAQUOKETA - Dozens of families waited in line Tuesday afternoon for H1N1 flu vaccinations. Jackson County administered just 200 doses of the vaccine, however, out not all the people getting them were from Jackson County.

If these kids knew the trouble their parents went through to get them that shot, they might hold back those tears. Outside, a small line that continued to grow.

A pregnant Rachel Miller waited in it. "It's mainly because I want to be covered," Miller said.

Jackson County Community Health gave away 200 of their precious 1,000 doses. But word of the clinic spread well beyond the county line.

Community Health's Ann Otteman said, "We've gotten as far away as Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Did you expect that? No I didn't. We really thought it would be a nice quiet Jackson County clinic like we usually do."

Addie Kettelsen brought her son Kye here from Cedar Rapids, that's more than an hour's drive.

"My doctor's office hasn't gotten any in yet, and I haven't heard of any clinics so I heard about this and I thought we'd come," Kettlesen said.

Community Health in Jackson County didn't ask where people lived, and didn't want to turn anyone away. An idea not every local agreed with.

"Well, it's kinda scary because I kinda feel like it might be taking away from us, us local people in this county," Rachel Miller said.

Each county has it's own shipment of vaccine, and its own plan for handing it out. Here in Jackson County, health workers got it first.

On this day, they gave some to those most at-risk, including some from other counties.

Because Community Health in Jackson County didn't ask for addresses, it doesn't know how many people came from outside the county.

But staff workers said they didn't think it was too many.

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