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Staff writer
Dozens of tiny tykes rode parents’ shoulders, their bigger brothers and sisters decorating the sidewalk with colorful chalk drawings, moms and dads chatting and comparing notes while waiting to boost their children’s health and well-being.
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 Jodi Lipinski holds a tearful two-year old, her daughter Hailey, while winding through the line inside the Schwan Center where Hailey would receive an H1N1 vaccine. “I called five clinics and every one of them told me they were out of the vaccine, so we came here,” Jodi said and reported a 90-minute wait in line before getting the vaccine. (Photo by Sue Austreng)
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Thousands waited for an hour or more while at the Schwan Center in Blaine for the H1N1 vaccination clinic staged there Nov. 18.
The Anoka County Community Health Department held the clinic to vaccinate healthy children ages five through nine, and children ages four through 18 with chronic health conditions such as asthma and diabetes.
Some began lining up two hours before the start of the 2:30 p.m. clinic.
All were determined to get their children vaccinated.
“I called five clinics and every one of them told me they were out of the vaccine, so we came here,” said Jodi Lipinski as she comforted her tearful two-year old, Hailey.
Just an hour into the clinic, nurses had already administered 1,500 vaccinations and the line stretched along the parking lot, past the Super Rink and the Minnesota Thunder soccer field to the Velodrome.
“We’re very pleased with the turn-out. It’s great to see all these young children and families,” said Susan Carolan, director of disease prevention and control with the Anoka County Community Health Department.
Carolan described the collaborative effort that was employed in order to stage the clinic.
“It was great to collaborate with the National Sports Center, the police, the city, the county and the state to get this done,” she said.
The collaboration worked like this:
While families waited in line inside the Schwan Center dozens of MVNA nurses (Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency) conducted preliminary screenings, issuing color-coded wristbands indicating which children were to receive the vaccine through a nasal spray (FluMist) or through injection.
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 Thousands wait in line outside the Schwan Center, determined to receive their H1N1 vaccinations during the clinic staged there Nov. 18. Parents with children in tow began lining up two hours before the 2:30 p.m. vaccination clinic opened. (Photo by Sue Austreng)
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Inside the clinic area, more MVNA nurses administered the vaccinations.
The clinic was free, however parents and guardians with health insurance were asked to bring their health insurance cards so their insurer could be billed for the cost of administering the vaccine; those who were uninsured were not charged.
Children seemed happy as they walked out of the clinic, clutching stickers and toothbrushes handed out by staff.
“We’ve been here an hour, but the line is really moving and pretty soon it’ll be our turn,” said Michelle Stambaugh as she and her son stood in line.
“This is perfect timing for the vaccine,” Stambaugh said. “I don’t want (my children) to be sick on vacation and next week’s Thanksgiving,” she said.
The high attendance is a sign the community has a great interest in getting its children vaccinated, Carolan said.
The county health department will receive more vaccine as it becomes available, according to Carolan.
“We’re hoping that anyone who wants to be vaccinated will be,” she said.
As of now, pregnant women, health care providers and young children, especially those with chronic health conditions, are considered at high risk for H1N1, Carolan said.
Sue Austreng is at
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