13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Hoosiers roll up sleeves for flu vaccinations

Hoosiers roll up sleeves for flu vaccinations

Indianapolis - As Hoosiers roll up their sleeves to take the seasonal flu vaccine, researchers say the H1N1 vaccination won't reach most of us for weeks.

A drive-thru clinic at the state fairgrounds Tuesday gave parents another option to get seasonal vaccinations.

"Our pediatrician was out of flu shots," said one mother at the Visiting Nurse Service clinic.

They are rolling up their sleeves for the regular seasonal flu shot, which is in short supply. They could be back soon for the H1N1 vaccine, which is even more scarce.

"We're getting more vaccine. It's slowly coming in," said Lisa Lowry with the Visiting Nurse Service.

The nurse service urges everyone to get the H1N1 vaccine, even if you've had the virus, because it will increase your immunity.

But the H1N1 vaccine is still in limited distribution. Marion County health workers got their shots last week, but no large scale inoculations have been announced. Tuesday, Hamilton Southeastern Schools said its students won't get the H1N1 vaccine until early November.

"It's a race against time," said IU School of Informatics professor Dr. Alessandro Vespignani.

Dr. Vespignani, a health researcher, was on his way to an H1N1 conference Tuesday. He says by the time the vaccine is widely available, "it's likely to have the peak of the disease earlier than an appreciable percentage of the population will be vaccinated."

He believes the H1N1 virus should hit its peak by about Halloween. By then, half of those who are going to get ill will have gotten sick, and only then will large supplies be available.

"There is no need to panic. The disease is mild, it is under the constant attention of authorities," Dr. Vespignani said.

Tuesday, with ten times more flu-like cases than the usual October, Marion County hospitals announced tighter limits on the number and ages of patients' visitors.

Chris Myers flew in to see his sister's newborn daughter. But with the tougher hospital rules, he had to keep his distance.

"It was a blessing to be there, but it made it hard because we had to look at her from the other side of the hospital, through the glass," Myers said.