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OGDEN -- Utahns lined up in Ogden today to receive the first of 2,600 H1N1 flu vaccinations available in the state.
Officials at the Weber-Morgan Health Department didn't know what to expect when they opened their doors Tuesday morning at 8:30, but spokeswoman Lori Buttars says the lines were manageable. She says it was mostly families with small children.
"We did 100 [vaccinations] in the first two hours," she said.
The vaccinations arrived at the health department on Monday.
"We thought rather than answering the phone all day long," said Buttars, "we would just get the people in here and get them immunized."
Mary Palmer of Pleasant View didn't qualify, but her children did.
"I'm hoping that by getting them immunized, it will kind of protect me," she said. "They're a little more high risk than I am. You know, I have the ability to wash my hands and not pick my nose and that kind of gross stuff," she said.
Two of her children were told they would have to wait 30 days because they had just received their seasonal flu shots and because the nasal H1N1 vaccination involves a live form of the virus.
Coming Up:
Tonight at 5:
Former Utah Governor and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt talks about the plans he put in place to fight a pandemic, today on KSL 5 News at 5.Buttars expects more doses of the vaccine will arrive within a couple of weeks.
The Salt Lake Valley Health Department will begin administering vaccines on Wednesday.
For specific information about the availability of the H1N1 vaccine in your area click on the blue link to your local health department above.
[CLICK HERE for more information about who should get the vaccine and why]
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
