Vaccination Clinic Reaches Capacity

Wednesday October 28, 2009 6:15 AM
UPDATED: Thursday October 29, 2009 7:07 PM

Health officials said Wednesday's H1N1 vaccination clinic at the Ohio Historical Center has reached capacity, prompting them to begin turning away people seeking to get the vaccine.

The announcement was made shortly before 2 p.m.

Health officials said they had between 1,200 to 1,400 doses of the vaccine to distribute.

SLIDESHOW:  Images Of Vaccination Clinic Lines | SPECIAL SECTION:  H1N1

10TV's Cara Connelly told 10TV.com that the clinic would remain open as long as health officials had the vaccine.  Traffic into the Ohio Historical Center was being cut off.

Parents and their children began lining up outside the Ohio Historical Society six hours before the scheduled start of Wednesday's clinic.  

Vaccines will be administered to health care workers, children ages 6 months to 4 years, pregnant women and caregivers of children 6 months and younger.

The first people began lining up outside the building at about 8 a.m., Connelly reported.

One mother said she was willing to stand in line with her son for several hours to ensure that he gets the vaccine.

"With the horrible stories of children dying from it, I just couldn't live with myself if something happened like that to my son and I had the opportunity to get the shot for him," said Susan Stewart.

Health officials say they chose the Historical Society for Wednesday's clinic because of its size.  There is parking for 1,400 vehicles and the building can hold thousands of people.

Extra police were scheduled to be on-hand on to help expedite the process.

The city is hoping to avoid a scene that played out earlier this week during a vaccination clinic in Delaware County.  Thousands of people turned out to get the vaccine, with some waiting more than three hours in line.

"Since 9/11, we've been preparing for mass vaccination clinics," said Jose Rodriguez with Columbus Public Health.  "We do know we have the system down to giving several hundred shots per hour.  The challenge (Wednesday) may be the traffic."

It is likely that the postponement of several vaccination clinics at local schools will add to Wednesday's crowd.

According to Rodriguez, clinic workers will have the ability to deliver several shots each hour.

"There will be several workers per station," he said.  "Somebody will be drawing the vaccine, somebody will be prepping the area, and there will be a nurse giving the vaccination."

Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for continuing coverage.

Slideshow: H1N1 Vaccination Clinic Lines | October 28, 2009
Slideshow: H1N1 Vaccination Clinic Lines | October 28, 2009

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