COEUR D'ALENE -- Mass swine flu vaccinations will be happening on Saturday in both Spokane and North Idaho. But if you live in North Idaho and didn't call for a vaccination by Thursday morning, you may be out of luck.
Unlike Spokane, the Panhandle Health Department's vaccinations are by appointment only, and they filled up within hours. There are no further plans for another Panhandle mass vaccination yet this fall.
The phone banks closed two hours early Thursday, as all 1,500 appointments were scheduled in just four hours. Dale Pick, with the Panhandle Health District, says people were calling for appointments before the phone lines opened, and they were ringing off the hook all day.
The Panhandle Health District covers five counties -- Boundary, Bonner, Kootenai, Shoshone, and Benewah. There are six locations.
With both the nasal and shot versions of the vaccine available, Panhandle health officials had patients first make appointments, then they were told where they would be administered the vaccines.
However, one of the big problems were people from Spokane calling for a vaccine in North Idaho. So instead of waiting in a long line at Spokane Arena on Saturday for a first-come-first-serve vaccine from the Spokane Regional Health District, many people called the Panhandle Health District.
In addition, the Panhandle health officials are vaccinating all of North Idaho's school children. They finished seven schools today, and hope to have 33 schools completely vaccinated by the end of the week.
The Spokane Regional Health District is conducting several mass vaccinations, with the first being at Spokane Arena on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., but individual appointments are booked solid through November.
