Sick of waiting in line for the swine flu vaccine?
EUGENE, Ore -- Fighting the swine flu virus may be only half the battle this flu season, as controversy and confusion cloud the vaccination clinics.
On Wednesday, there were more long lines for shots and nasal sprays. The clinic at North Eugene High School was set to open at 2 p.m. Barbara Macleod wanted to make sure she got a vaccine. She got to the school at 8 a.m. and was first in line.
From shouting matches in Bethel to recent confusion in Cottage Grove, wherever there's a swine flu clinic, a controversy seems to be close by.
"This is terrible," said Macleod.
In response, Cottage Grove City Manager Richard Meyers wrote a letter to the media, saying why clinics like the one at North Eugene are not the best way to vaccinate the public.
"What is a bad idea is to have nearly 300 people assembled together, outside and inside a busy building for many hours when many of those people are in the high risk group for the H1N1 flu," wrote Meyers. Cottage Grove encountered problems with a clinic Monday when some people were given tickets for a place in line, only to return and find the tickets had not been given out by the people running the clinic and weren't going to be honored.
KVAL News took those concerns to the Lane County Health Department and asked program manager Karen Gillette if the clinics are the best way to vaccinate people.
"From a public health perspective, they are," said Gillette. "The walk-in clinics are the most efficient. In a walk-in situation we need to screen every one of them individually. So from our experience for years and years, the mass clinics are the easiest way to handle."
Their advice to the public is be patient, don't panic, be extra diligent with hand washing stay home if you are sick and do not go to the vaccination clinics unless you fall in the high-risk category.
