Swine Flu Vaccine Arrives in Connecticut

The long-awaited Swine Flu vaccine has made it to Connecticut -- more than 80,000 doses, according to the Department of Health.

Clinics in Old Saybrook and Middletown were the first to give the doses. Children between the ages of 2 and 4 are the first group to receive the vaccine. Overall, 700 doses were available at the Middletown clinic and 400 in Old Saybrook.

The vaccine is given through the nose but children were still crying, more frightened by the sight of a stranger putting something into their nose than actual pain.

Despite Several parents couldn't wait to get their children vaccinated.

"It's the first opportunity we had so we decided to get right into it and get it done," said Bonnie Bessonni.

Not all parents were an anxious to vaccinate their kids. Gina Turner of Durham said she was going back and forth over whether to give her child the vaccine.

"Most of the people we talk to are on the fence," said Turner. "They don't know what they should do, if they should get it. I think they want to wait it out and see what happens."

In Middletown, the crowd was slow. Only 52 children were immunized out of a possible 700.

Middletown Health Director Joseph Havlicek explained, "It's kind of surprising to me that more people haven't shown since not many people are giving out the vaccines except for us."
 

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