SPOKANE -- The swine flu vaccine will be offered this weekend at the Spokane Valley YMCA. The vaccinations are free and appointments are filling up fast. But preparing for those clinics is no easy task for health district workers.
The vaccines are under lock and key at the health district. They are closely monitored and getting them to clinics and doctor's offices is a huge ordeal. Health care workers have to document every time they check the refrigerated vaccines and prove it to the government if asked.
When the crews get ready to transport some of the vaccine to clinics, the real work begins starting with packing insulated boxes with ice. Once the vaccines are in the box, the temperature is checked again. If the temperature gets out of range, health care workers have to toss away the vaccines.
Once the vaccine arrives, there's a designated health care worker whose sole job is to stand guard of the vaccine. But there's one thing that hasn't gone exactly according to plan for the health district. 25 people out of the more than 2,000 at the first clinic at the Spokane Arena got their vaccine and took off without turning in their paperwork. The health district is supposed to document each vaccine to the Centers for Disease Control.
"This is the first time doing it. We learned a lesson that we have to have a tighter collection of the paperwork right there," said Julie Graham from the Spokane Health District.
It's a lesson she says will be fixed for Saturday. The district is getting new shipments each week and will have to go through the exact same process.
