Free Flu Shots Draw a Crowd

Joe and Emilia Wandro skipped their daily morning church service Thursday. Instead, they grabbed folding chairs, books, newspapers, peanut butter sandwiches and water.

Then they headed to UCI Westminster Medical Center, for free flu shots offered by Orange County’s Health Care Agency.

At 6:20 a.m., the Wandros were 25th and 26th in a snaking outdoor line. And on this crisp November morning, it seemed everyone had brought similar supplies. The Wandros knew it was the price to pay to get protection from influenza. They were among 1,300 people who got shots at the center Thursday.

Three weeks ago, California drugstores and supermarkets ran out of flu vaccine through private vendors, putting the onus on public health officials to provide flu shots for the most vulnerable people at a time when the nation was struck by a severe vaccine shortage.

“We just expected people would run down here. It’s hard to get a flu shot, and we really need the protection,” said Emilia Wandro, 68, of Westminster. “It’s pretty important for [my husband] because he had a quadruple bypass” in 2000.

Los Angeles and San Diego counties have each reported one case of influenza. No case has been reported in Orange County yet, said Health Care Agency spokeswoman Tricia Arcelona.

Unlike in previous years, the agency is partnering with private hospitals to offer the vaccinations because they can better accommodate long lines and are in more diverse locations, Arcelona said. Thursday’s clinic in Westminster was one of 14 scheduled before Nov. 16 by the county.

The state gave Orange County 24,760 doses of the vaccine to be given at the clinics. The number of vaccinations is based on the low-income population and previously placed vaccine orders through the state, said Lea Brooks, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health Services.

Last year, the county gave about 58,000 flu shots.

This year, the shots are offered only to those considered at high risk of flu complications, including people older than 65, adults with chronic medical conditions and women who are pregnant.

Arcelona said it was unlikely that others would be able to get flu shots this season.

Paula Higashi, a 60-year-old part-time jewelry saleswoman who has diabetes, waited for two hours for a shot Thursday. It was “worth the wait,” said Higashi, of Buena Park, who in previous years got flu shots from a private doctor. “I figured if I didn’t get it today, I would wait in line [today].... I get it every year. I just never had to wait in line for it.”