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Read the press release here.

New Yorkers Line Up for Swine Flu Vaccine

By DNAinfo Staff on November 27, 2009 6:36am  | Updated on November 27, 2009 6:43am

By Gabriela Resto-Montero

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — The search for an H1N1 vaccine is turning out to be New York City's great equalizer.

Most of the vaccinations, from East Harlem to the Financial District, have been dispensed at schools, hospitals and community health centers — not in private practices, according to the Department of Health.

With primary care physicians unable to meet the demand for the vaccine, thousands of city residents, of all income brackets, have turned to health clinics for the shot.

On the weekend of Nov. 21, more than 11,000 residents were inoculated at city clinics around Manhattan, according to department spokesperson Jessica Scaperotti.

The city received 1 million doses of the vaccine in November, and expects an additional shipment of 1 million more in December.

Intake centers, including the Metropolitan Hospital Center in East Harlem and Access Community Health Center in the Financial District, have become vaccination hubs for children and adults who meet the H1N1 vaccination criteria.

On the Wednesday before the big vaccination drive, Steven Zeiger of the Upper East Side brought his 4-year-old son, Jordan, and 7-month-old son, Noah, to Metropolitan Hospital Center for the vaccination.

“We’ve heard everything from, 'don’t get it because you’ll give your kid autism,' to, 'you have to get it because we’re in the middle of an epidemic,'” Zeiger said.

Although some residents expressed reservations about the long-term effects of vaccination, the H1N1 inoculation is the best way to prevent getting sick, Scaperotti said.

Zeiger said that, in the end, the boys' pediatrician encouraged getting vaccinated.

“Luckily, we keep our pigs in a separate room,” he joked.

Clinic staff at Metropolitan Hospital Center said they vaccinated 150 people a day and hundreds more on the weekends.

While the Zeiger boys got their shots, Lourdes Brea, 56, of the Upper West Side, waited for her turn.

A home health care worker, Brea uses the hospital as her primary care facility and said she was nervous about the H1N1 vaccination.

“I’m afraid because you hear so many things,” Brea said.

Brea said she expected to receive her shot quickly and leave for home around 5 p.m. She drew number and began to wait shortly after 2 p.m.

Wait times for patients at Metropolitan depend on the day and turn-out, said Noel Alicea, spokesperson with the hospital.

"It's all walk-in so it depends on the day," Alicea said. "Someone here on Friday waited a half-hour."

Lourdes Brea, 56, uses Metropolitan Hospital Center as her primary care facility, she expected to wait a few hours for her vaccination.
Lourdes Brea, 56, uses Metropolitan Hospital Center as her primary care facility, she expected to wait a few hours for her vaccination.
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Gabriela Resto-Montero

Patients are charged on a sliding scale at Metropolitan.

Making sure patients weren’t discouraged by long lines motivated Access Community Health Center to organize a Nov. 19 vaccination drive as a “pod” system where patients were rotated to five different stations and wait times were under 15 minutes.

“We really focused on the experience of the person getting vaccinated,” said Dr. Fernando Carnavali, medical director for Access.

The center, which, like Metropolitan Hospital Center, works as a primary care location for low-income residents, will hold another vaccination drive for children Nov. 30.

All of the center’s vaccination clinics are open to everyone, regardless of ability to pay, said Jessica Williams, outreach coordinator for Access.

“Even if you don’t have insurance, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t receive care,” Williams said.

 

 

 

Metropolitan Hospital Center was one of 16 health centers offering H1N1 vaccinations in Manhattan.
Metropolitan Hospital Center was one of 16 health centers offering H1N1 vaccinations in Manhattan.
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Gabriela Resto-Montero