The Swine Line

Today we headed over to the county health department because they were having a free H1N1 vaccine shot clinic specifically for infants and toddlers. With there being a vaccine shortage for awhile now in this area, people have been calling the health department for hours at a time trying to claim an appointment time with lack of success. I know our pediatrician's office ran out very early in the season and pretty much said good luck finding it elsewhere. Not only were we able to get the vaccine but it was also the thermisol-free kind, which I definitely wanted for my kids and other places weren't offering.


We decided to get there 45 minutes early to get in line. There were already a hundred or more people there queued up upon our arrival. Parking was a nightmare! The lots at the health department are pretty small plus a lot of the spaces were filled by the employees who work there so it was a bit of a nuisance. Fortunately, my mother works at the health department and was able to come out and move her car so I could have her space. Many people had to resort to parking way down the street or double parking on the street! The police ended up coming over to direct traffic because there were so many cars blocking the road.


I got the babies loaded up in the triplet jogging stroller and headed toward the lower parking lot where the line was rapidly growing. I swear all eyes were on us! I just smiled and kept walking. It's so annoying to get attention everywhere we go but I usually just ignore people. There were some people who had nice things to say like "God bless you" and "What beautiful babies!" However, my ultimate favorite compliment of the day was "You're a rock star!" It was amazing to see so many babies in one place. It was definitely Stroller City!


My friend, Liz, and her baby, Raya, rode separately but met up with us in the line. It was nice to have someone to talk to while we waited. The kids were good sitting in the stroller playing with toys and looking around at all the fascinating people! We even brought along our H1N1 mascot, a toy pig! Looking at the picture, it looks more like a pink porcupine but it's really a pink pig. We figured it would be appropriate to have a swine in the swine line to keep us company while waiting. As long as it's not the real deal, right? We also got the company of Nonna, who came down from her office, to stand in line with us. She was happy to show off the babies.


Fortunately, about 15 minutes after we arrived, they started giving the shots early. We waited for about 45 minutes total when we finally made it into the building and to the nurse's station. The babies weren't very excited to get their shots, as was expected! Jamison seemed to be especially offended after his shot. At least Nonna was there to comfort him so Mommy could be with the girls for their turns. Even after all the shots we've been through in the past 1.5 years, it's still hard to see your babies hurt! At least they got a sticker as a consolation prize.




When it was all over, only an hour had passed! I was prepared to wait a lot longer than that so it was a pleasant surprise. Now it will be interesting to see if more vaccine will be available for Dose #2 in mid-December. I hope so but if not, one dose is definitely better than no doses.