So far, area immune to flu crisis
Dec. 9, 2003

By ELIZABETH COOPER
Observer-Dispatch

UTICA -- Cailin Rech, 4, was singing a song to her stuffed Dalmatian, Doggie, as she waited her turn to get a flu shot.

"If I'm scared, I get to hold my doggie real tight," she said, smiling broadly. "Doggie likes to get shots."

Cailin said Doggie had helped her through trying situations before and she wasn't at all worried.

Trying situations, but not yet worries, also might describe the scene around her Monday afternoon at the Oneida County Health Department Diagnostic and Treatment Center on Elizabeth Street in East Utica. The little blond girl was among 250 people who went in for a flu shot at the clinic in the wake of news reports that this year's influenza was more virulent than past strains.

While many areas throughout the nation have reported vaccine shortages, that's not the case in the Mohawk Valley.

The county Health Department ordered 7,000 flu vaccinations for the fall, and has used about 6,250 so far, said Patrice Bogan, the county's director of clinical services.

Bogan said she contacted other local flu-shot providers Monday to see how much of the vaccine was left in the area, and also reached out to wholesalers to learn whether more of the vaccine would be available if needed. She said she did not foresee a shortage.

Herkimer County Director of Public Health Dr. Gregory O'Keefe said he wasn't worried about his supplies.

"We still have some left," he said of the 1,500 vaccinations he had ordered. "Enough for our anticipated need."

The shots will be available at county health clinics into the spring.

Oneida County Public Health Director Eric Faisst was quick to note that county health providers have not yet reported any incidences of the flu, but his department is monitoring area emergency rooms and care providers carefully.

"It's not an issue here right now," Faisst said. "And we don't want it to become one."

Nonetheless, many local people who never had the flu shot before are opting to do it this year.

Cindy Dunderdale had brought in her sons Russell, 7, and Owen, 7 months, for the first time.

"I'm just concerned because young children are at high risk for being hospitalized," Dunderdale said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have urged children young than 2, people older than 65 and people with weakened immune systems to be inoculated.

But even if they aren't in a vulnerable group, local people are coming out in droves in an effort to avoid getting sick. Another 100 went to a clinic in Rome, said Bogan.

And with reports that several children have died of the flu already this year, and publicized predictions by experts that this strain of the virus may kill more than the yearly national average of 36,000, she is expecting to need more.

"This is quite unusual to see the numbers we're seeing today," Bogan said. "Normally, at this time of year, we would get 10 or no more than 20 people."

Usually, most people who are going to get flu shots in a given year stop in during October and November," she said.

Getting a shot

Flu shots are available at the Oneida County Health Department's Utica clinic at 406 Elizabeth St., through March, if supplies last. The cost is $20 for adults and up to $17.50 for children, depending on need. Hours of operation are:

Monday and Thursday: 1 to 3:30 p.m.