Hundreds spend hours in line for flu vaccine

Rain, sleet and snow didn't keep several hundred people from trying to get flu vaccinations today at County Building Number 2 in the Town of Batavia.

At one point, the line snaked outside and around the side of the building. Seniors, parents and children were waiting two or more hours for either a shot of the seasonal flu vaccine or the H1N1 nasal mist.

A winter storm of sorts started not long after the clinic doors opened, and by then the line  already stretched well outside the building.

"I was standing in the rain and snow out there a little while before and I was thinking, I'm going to get a flu shot to prevent getting sick and I'm going to get sick standing in line in the rain and the snow, so I wonder if it's really worth it," Walter Kershenski said. He also happens to be Stafford Town Clerk, and said he stood in line for more than two hours.

There were reports of people driving from Orleans, Monroe and even Chautauqua counties for the vaccinations, and apparently, nobody was being turned away for the free vaccines.

Interim Health Director Randy Garney said the Health Department was expecting to provide at least 500 doses of vaccine in two hours, but had received an extra shipment of seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccine just days ago.

"I figure, two hours, that's going to be about all we're going to be able to process, but we're going to keep the clinic open as long as there is a line," Garney said.

"With recent events that have taken place, we were expecting a large crowd," Garney said.

Rosemary Sero, of Oakfield, said all the reports of people getting sick with H1N1 and especially the death of a Pembroke student, has her feeling very cautious about taking care of her two young daughters.

"They're using a lot of hand sanitizer," she said. "They wash their hands a lot. I tell them not to touch their face."