Most of the adults who turned up at Cork Street yesterday had a painless experience
LITTLE HANNAH Quirke was terrified. So frightened, in fact, that by late yesterday afternoon the 8½-year-old was still crouching by her mother Sarah and little brother Thomas (3½) at a swine flu clinic set up by the HSE in Dublin 8, afraid to get the pandemic flu jab.
Her mum and her little brother – neither of them in an at-risk group for swine flu – both got the vaccine and were unperturbed by it. Trying to convince Hannah – who is in an at-risk group as a result of having asthma – that there was no need to be nervous was an entirely different matter. Her watery eyes told their own story.
Gary Healy from north Dublin was more concerned about a few children he saw getting the vaccine than he was for himself. “They were distraught,” he observed. But as an insulin- dependent diabetic, he is well used to needles. “It’s absolutely nothing. I didn’t even feel it.”
He attended the Bru Chaoimhin vaccination centre because his GP told him he only had a small amount of vaccine and he needed it for cancer patients first. He expected to have to queue at the Cork Street centre, close to where he works, but there was no waiting. “They seem to be very organised and really on top of everything today,” he said.
He had no concerns about getting the vaccine. “I’d be more concerned if I didn’t get it.”
Former cancer patient Noreen Murphy from Dundrum, who has respiratory problems, said she didn’t have a choice but to get the H1N1 vaccine as she was in a high-risk group. “I’m delighted to be able to get it and that the public facility was here because my GP had not received the vaccine and she had a waiting list of 40 for it,” she said.
Also attending was a 32-year-old woman with cystic fibrosis who preferred not to be named. She had planned to get the vaccine on Friday but when she went to work yesterday and heard colleagues talking about their children having swine flu she decided to go for the vaccine straight away.
“There was no hassle. There is an online way of making an appointment for the clinic but I could only get an appointment online for tomorrow so I rang the HSE information line and they told me I could just turn up here. It was very efficient. I wasn’t left waiting,” she said.
“They explained the risks and benefits,” she added.
Carrie Doyle from Kildare, who also has asthma, felt relieved to have got the vaccine. She said she went to the HSE clinic because her GP wasn’t giving the vaccine, and because she worked in Dublin she decided to attend a public clinic there.
“I wasn’t worried about getting it because I was reassured by all the staff here. They treated me very well. I didn’t even feel it,” she said.
The Bru Chaoimhin clinic gave the vaccine to anyone who turned up yesterday, but from today will give it only to patients in at-risk groups. One patient was turned away as he was on antibiotics. People with flu symptoms will not be given the vaccine until they have recovered.
Two doctors were on hand to discuss any concerns people had about availing of the vaccine. A number of people had queries about taking the vaccine if they were already on heart or asthma medication.
All those vaccinated remained under observation for 15 minutes afterwards and no adverse reactions were reported at the clinic.
Ann Brady, an asthmatic from Dublin 8, said she felt “stinging” in her mouth and fingers after getting the jab but was okay within a few minutes. “I get chest infections all the time so my doctor told me to get the vaccine.”
But why then didn’t she go to her GP to be vaccinated? “I just took advantage of this clinic near me . . . and it’s free,” she said.