Lisa Duncan said she was having no luck this week finding a seasonal flu shot for her 9-year-old daughter, Carsyn.
That changed Friday morning at the Evans branch of the Columbia County Health Department, where she was the last person to receive a ticket guaranteeing one of 20 available doses.
"I was in the right place at just the right time," the Grovetown resident said. "I was starting to get desperate."
She was not alone.
Dozens of parents and their children crammed the small lobby or waited outside the Health Department to receive vaccinations.
Edward and Kami Rabil, of Grovetown, were among the first to arrive. They and their 4-year-old daughter, Madison, were there at 6:50 a.m.
"We knew it was going to be crowded, and we didn't know how much (vaccine) they would have. So we wanted to be sure we could get it," Mr. Rabil said.
In addition to 20 seasonal flu shots, the Health Department also had about 90 seasonal FluMist vaccinations and 404 doses of FluMist against the novel A H1N1 virus. By the end of Friday, 320 doses remained.
Madison received vaccinations for both seasonal and H1N1 on Friday, but Carsyn's asthma prevented her from receiving an H1N1 vaccination because it was unavailable as a shot.
Those able to receive the H1N1 FluMist, an inhaled form of the vaccine, is limited, said Columbia County Nurse Manager Linda Graves.
In addition to those with asthma, others unable to receive FluMist include those suffering from heart disease, lung disease, diabetes and certain allergies. Also, the mist currently is only available to healthy persons between the ages of 2 to 25, caregivers of infants less than 6 months old, health-care providers and health employees up to age 49.
Like injectable doses of the H1N1 vaccine, seasonal flu vaccine is becoming increasingly hard to come by, said Columbia County Public Health Nurse Victoria Manning.
"Manufacturers are more focused now on getting out vaccine for H1N1," Ms. Manning said.
Information on when more seasonal flu vaccine might be ready is too difficult to determine at this time, Ms. Manning said.
County Emergency and Operations Director Pam Tucker said Friday that she, too, is unsure of when more vaccine might arrive but hopes to have more doses available next month.
Already, the Health Department has canceled clinics and many area doctors and pharmacies were out of the vaccine.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials say that another 32 million doses of the vaccine are expected to be shipped out in the coming weeks.
Reach Donnie Fetter at (706) 868-1222, ext. 115, or donnie.fetter@augustachronicle.com.
ACROSS THE NATION
SEASONAL: More Americans have been vaccinated against seasonal flu this fall than ever before by this time of year, federal health officials said Friday.
Sixty million people have gotten the winter flu vaccine.
Part of it is because of supply nationwide: There are already 85 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine available, a much larger amount than usual for this early in the fall.
H1N1: Swine flu is more widespread now than it has ever been, according to CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden. It resulted in more than 1,000 U.S. deaths so far, including nearly 100 children.
FLU ACTIVITY: Forty-six states now have widespread flu activity. The only states without widespread flu are Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey and South Carolina. Tests from about 5,000 patients suggest that nearly all the flu cases are swine flu.
H1N1 DOSES?
Richmond County still has a limited number of nasal spray H1N1 vaccines, and Aiken County will hold H1N1 clinics next week.
Healthy Richmond County residents ages 2 to 24 will be the first to receive the remaining nasal spray vaccination, said Melba McNorrill
There is no charge for the vaccination, she said. Aiken County will hold H1N1 vaccines Oct. 31, Nov. 2 and Nov. 3, said Veleta Rudnick, disease surveillance response coordinator for the Aiken County Health Department. The nasal spray and H1N1 flu shot will be available for those who meet the requirements. The Oct. 31 clinic will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the county health department located at 828 Richland Ave. W. The H1N1 clinics on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3 will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. at the North Augusta Health Department, 802 E. Martintown Road , Suite 170. The first to receive the shots will be: - Health care and emergency medical service personnel - People who care for children 6 months and younger - Pregnant women - Those ages 2 to 24 - People with underlying chronic health disorders ages 25 to 64 - From staff reports
HARD TO FIND?
How difficult is it to find a dose of seasonal flu vaccine this fall? The Chronicle tried to find out. Three reporters called the following numbers on Friday. This is what they found:
Note: Pharmacies in bold have vaccine.
Augusta
Private pharmacies
- Barney's Pharmacy, 2604 Peach Orchard Road, Augusta, (706) 798-5645 - No
- Hephzibah Pharmacy, 4819 Windsor Spring Road, Hephzibah, (706) 592-4646 - No
- Hill Drug Co., 1432 Monte Sano Ave., Augusta, (706) 733-3621 - No
- Medical Center Pharmacy, 3121 Peach Orchard Road, Augusta, (706) 792-5130 - No
- Medical Villa Pharmacy, 1520 Laney-Walker Blvd., Augusta, (706) 722-7355: No
- Summerville Pharmacy, 2279 Wrightsboro Road, Augusta, (706) 481-7140 - No
- Surrey Center Pharmacy, 483 Highland Ave., Augusta, (706) 738-4558 - No
Pharmacy chains
- Bi-Lo Pharmacy, 2512 Tobacco Road, Augusta, (706) 790-0917 - No, not any more this month
- CVS, 2902 Peach Orchard Road, Augusta, (706) 798-8088 - No, CVS is all out
- Kmart, 1647 Gordon Highway, Augusta, (706) 738-5451 - No
- Rite Aid, 1505 Walton Way, Augusta, (706) 828-3113 - No, Rite Aid is not giving seasonal flu shots this year at any location
- Target, 235 Robert C. Daniel Jr. Parkway, Augusta, (706) 733-3011 - No, had to cancel one for tomorrow
- Kroger, 2801 Washington Road, Augusta, (706) 731-7300 - No
- Kroger, 3435 Wrightsboro Road, Augusta, (706) 733-7352 - No
- Kroger, 3128 Deans Bridge Road, Augusta, (706) 790-6077 - No
Medical center
- Urgent MD Family Care Center: 3686 Wheeler Road, Augusta, (706) 922-6300 - Yes, 30 doses left
Columbia County
Private Pharmacies
- Medical Center West Pharmacy, 465 N. Belair Road, Evans, (706) 854-2424 - No
- Martinez Apothecary, 3830 Washington Road, Martinez, (706) 210-6654 - No
pharmacy chains
- Fred's Pharmacy, 5107 Wrightsboro Road, Grovetown, (706) 210-7545 - No
- CVS, 1044 Furys Ferry Road, Evans, (706) 860-3945 - No (out of the vaccinations)
- CVS, 4385 Hereford Farm Road, Evans, (706) 210-0015 - No
- Walgreens, 4310 Washington Road, Evans, (706) 860-4179 - No
- Walgreens, 3900 Washington Road, Martinez, (706) 868-8084) - Out completely of the seasonal; will be getting H1N1 within the next week
- Target, 4223 Washington Road, Evans, (706) 869-0937 - No
- Kmart, 3830 Washington Road, Martinez, (706) 860-1950 - Yes; only 6-7 doses
- Walmart, 4471 Washington Road, Evans, (706) 854-1516 - Yes; clinic 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., $24.75, will take insurance.
- Walmart, 260 Bobby Jones Expressway, Martinez, (706) 860-0699) - No
- Bi-Lo, 500 Furys Ferry Road, Martinez, (706) 863-0975 - No answer
- Kroger, 4115 Columbia Road, Martinez, (706) 863-9635 - No
- Publix, 4274 Washington Road, Evans (706) 650-5046 - No
- Publix, 403 Furys Ferry Road, Martinez, (706) 650-3366) - No
Private Physicians/Medical Centers:
- Martinez Urgent Care, 210 Bobby Jones Expressway, Martinez, (706) 855-1755 - No
- MedNow, 104 N. Belair Road, Evans, (706) 922-3669 - No
- Evans Medical Group, 465 N. Belair Road, Evans, (706) 868-3100 - No
- The Center for Primary Care, 363 N. Belair Road, Evans, (706) 650-7563 - No
- Family Physicians of Evans, 465 N. Belair Road, Evans, (706) 854-2160 - No
Aiken County
Private pharmacies
- Family Pharmacy, 333 Newberry St., Aiken - No
- Family Pharmacy, 110 Price Ave., Aiken, (866) 649-1313 - No
- Medical Center Pharmacy, 410 University Parkway, Aiken, (803) 648-2985 - No
pharmacy chains
- Rite-Aid, 943 Pine Log Road, Aiken, (803) 648-2366 - No
- Walmart, 3581 Richland Ave., Aiken, (803) 648-5551 - No
- Walmart, 2035 Whiskey Road, Aiken, (803) 648-9197 - No
- Walgreens, 2191 Whiskey Road, Aiken, (803) 648-8155 - No
- CVS, 1041 York St., Aiken, (803) 649-0521 - No
- CVS, 1614 Richland Ave., Aiken, (803) 648-3203 - No
- CVS, 2062 Whiskey Road, Aiken, (803) 648-2339 - No
- Target Pharmacy, 2545 Whiskey Road, Aiken, (803) 644-2711 - No
- Kroger, 1795 Whiskey Road, Aiken, (803) 642-5280 - No
- Kroger, 406 E. Martintown Road, North Augusta, (803) 278-4363 - No
- Publix, 250 Eastgate Drive, Aiken, (803) 643-7970 - No
- Publix, 334 E. Martintown Road, North Augusta, (803) 441-3900 - No
- Health Department
- North Augusta Health Department, 802 E. Martintown Road, (803) 278-3621 - Yes (9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, $25)
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