Kimmy Simmons waited and waited and waited with her young son Payton.
This was the third time Simmons, who is eight-and-a-half months pregnant, stood in line. She was hoping that this would be the one that would end with a prick from a needle with the H1N1 vaccine.
This week, 47 pharmacies in King County – including two in Kirkland – received new stock of the vaccine.
“This is the third vaccination clinic we have been to,” said Simmons, who lives in Bothell. “It’s been weeks and weeks and I am just glad to make it to one.”
Simmons and her son ultimately received their shots. But not everyone was so lucky. An estimated 600 people stood in line at the Kirkland Fred Meyer Wednesday. The location had just 250 vaccines.
“Given the media coverage it was not surprising,” said Melinda Merrill, a representative of Kroger Foods, which owns Fred Meyer. “It is a big deal. A lot of people want it. This was the first time we have done first-come, first-served for this vaccine. Next time it will be by appointment only.”
The store advertised that walk-ins would be accepted at 11:30 a.m. for ages 13 and older and with a prescription for kids ages 3-12.
People began standing in line before the store opened at 7 a.m.
“The pharmacy kind of knew cause one of the pharmacists asked where we wanted the line to go,” said Fred Meyer Assistant Customer Service Manager Susan Frenzel. “It was surprising for me cause it was just a lot of bodies.”
The line eventually stretched from the north entrance of the store where the pharmacy is located, past the line of cash registers, down a long pathway, out the front door and along the outside wall near the south entrance.
“I stopped counting at one point because of the little inaccuracies,” said Frenzel. “Some children were not eligible. For the most part, people were very nice and orderly.”
Some kids standing in the line were turned away as their parents did not get a prescription for the vaccine from their physician. Store employees began handing out numbers at 10 a.m. to avoid any issues.
“It has been a little disorganized,” said Simmons. “The Web site didn’t say that kids under 13 needed a prescription. They should have prioritized the line.”
Store officials said they believed everyone who lined up before 10 a.m. received a vaccine. One customer that was at the back of the line at 10:45 a.m. was Tim Schriever of Woodinville.
“I meet people every day who have the cold or are sick,” said Schriever, whose kidney transplant makes him a high risk for the H1N1 virus. “I am assuming the line also has to do with this being Veterans Day. I think some people got in line in the off chance they would get in.”
The store ran out of the injectable vaccine at 11 a.m. After the announcement that only the nasal spray would be available, many people exited the line.
Glenn Biggerstaff, of Woodinville, was turned off by the long line at Fred Meyer.
“I got there at 11:15 a.m.,” said Biggerstaff. “I took one look and said ‘I am not doing that.'”
Biggerstaff went to the second of the two vaccine clinics in Kirkland on Thursday at the 6619 132nd Ave. N.E. Bartell drug store in the Bridle Trails neighborhood and received a shot.
The store received 200 vaccines and sold out. However, store employees did not see the crush of people that Fred Meyer did the day before. In contrast, the last people to receive the vaccine got in line at Bartell at 11 a.m. with the clinic beginning at 11:30 a.m.
A total of 15,000 doses of vaccine were allocated to King County pharmacies this week.
Officials have ordered approximately 71,000 more doses that will be delivered to the county soon.
Most of the vaccine is currently being made available through health care providers.
At-risk people eligible to receive vaccine at this time include:
* Pregnant women
* People who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age
* People between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old
* People between 25 through 64 years of age with chronic health conditions or weakened immune systems
* Health care and emergency workers with direct patient contact
Pharmacies may charge a fee for administering the vaccine, typically between $12 and $22 (not to exceed $22). This fee is covered by most health insurance.
Visit the Public Health H1N1 influenza Web site at www.kingcounty.gov/health/H1N1 for updates on vaccine availability in the community or call the Flu Hotline at 877-903-KING (5464), which is staffed with operators to answer questions from King County residents about H1N1 influenza. Hours of operation with operators are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Recorded information will be available 24 hours a day.
