The ins and outs of getting an H1N1 flu shot

By Joel Goldenberg

When the H1N1 flu shot process first began a couple of weeks ago, there were reports of waits of many hours alternating with other reports of almost nobody waiting to be injected to be protected from the swine flu.

There were also rumours floating around about some vaccination venues throwing their priority list for shots out the window; while some people are expressing fear about the amount of mercury in the vaccines; or, among some, coming up with conspiracy theories about Big Pharma.
I received my own flu shot a week ago Monday afternoon at St. Laurent’s Centre des Loisirs, based on my having chronic sinusitis and mild asthma. The seven-step process, from registration to vaccination, was handled extremely efficiently and quickly — the employees assess each potential recipient, tell them of the possible side effects involved (mostly a sore arm for three days) and, just like the regular flu shot, recipients are required to be on site for 15 minutes after the shot just in case of an immediate reaction. The vaccine takes effect 10 to 14 days after inoculation.

For me, the whole process took a half-hour. My side effects were slight headache and mild joint pain for a day, which is not that common and can be alleviated with Aspirin or Ibuprofen.

The Suburban also visited the flu injection venue at Cavendish Mall, handled by the CSSS Cavendish. The shots are actually administered in a large space at the former Eaton’s store. The venue is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

Francine Dupuis, executive director of CSSS Cavendish, said that despite the crowds in the first few days, “it wasn’t chaotic. We really organized it so that people understood that they were waiting in a line to get their coupon and then they were vaccinated.

“Those who really wanted to be vaccinated, wanted to be vaccinated on the very first day, so there was a rush. After that, well it’s constantly flowing, it never stops, but there’s no line-ups. We’ve calculated (as of Nov. 10) we have, more or less, 1,500 vaccinations every day. We’re doing very well. There was a bit of a problem in the West Island — they had 4,000 people waiting the first day. We told them — send us people, we can afford to take them.” As of Nov. 10, the CSSS Cavendish was responsible in their territory for a total 22,281 shots.

Dupuis said there were inevitably people who were disappointed to be turned away, especially seniors.
“The elderly are usually the first to be vaccinated, and some don’t understand they are less likely to get H1N1, so they’re a bit frustrated. But most are very understanding.”

She added that the information about priority shots has been changing, resulting in mix-ups. “Sometimes you’ll read one thing in the newspaper, but it has been changed late the day before, but it’s already printed. We tell people ‘listen to the radio, watch TV’ because it changes fast. It all depends how much vaccine there is. We have to adjust accordingly.”

Asked about the mercury issue, Dupuis said there are traces in the vaccine.

“It is ethyl mercury, not methyl. The dangerous mercury is methyl, and there is none in the vaccine. The one in the vaccine gets out of the body very fast, and there is less mercury than in a can of tuna.”

She also said there was only one incident, on the first or second day, of a recipient fainting. “The whole ambulance team was here, and it might have been one of them. The person said he was sensitive to vaccines in general. I don’t think he lost consciousness, but he was very weak. All his friends were helping him.”

Dupuis also said the rumours of injections given to anybody, especially on one Sunday at Alexis-Nihon Plaza, were not true.

“I phoned the executive director for that venue because I wanted to know if it was true, and they said a radio station aired the information wrongly. This person phoned the station to tell them they had an obligation to change this information. They did not accept any other clientele. Of course, it may happen that someone lies. We’re not police officers, we’re health caregivers.”

Communications advisor Claire Valiquette took The Suburban through the vaccination process, first with registration and distribution of coupons for those qualified and triage, and then waiting if there are many people. On Nov. 10 at around 3 p.m., no one was waiting. A questionnaire is then filled out, and a nurse does verification. After the vaccination, people wait 15 minutes and can watch part of a movie on a large TV.
“It takes about an hour, but it depends how many people there are,” she said. “In the morning, sometimes we have big line-ups. On one Thursday, we vaccinated 2,400 people. And on a Saturday, it was only 746.”

The CSSS Cavendish also said it is important to be aware of their flu clinic, where experts are on hand, at 2525 Cavendish, Suite 110 in NDG. The clinic, open Monday to Friday 12 to 8 p.m. and weekends 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., is for children and adults with one or more symptoms, including sustained fever, difficulty breathing, painful breathing, vomiting over a period of more than four hours and, in the case of a child, fever causing less energy or more agitation. For more information, consult http://www.santemontreal.qc.ca/fr/portrait/clinique.html