By BRYAN NOONAN
bnoonan@lakecityreporter.com
Lake City Reporter
July 16, 2002
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There have been plenty of grimaces, flinches and whines at the Columbia County Health Department lately. More are to come.

These mild displays of discomfort are preventing nastier conditions like measles and chicken pox from spreading through the community. With the first day of school less than a month away, the health department has been a stickler when it comes to ensuring kids get their preschool immunizations.

Parents are encouraged to make appointments for their children with pediatricians or at the health center from 8-11 a.m. and 1-3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Call 758-1068 for more information.

"It is very important ... if in fact there were an outbreak, their child would be protected," said Anne Lundy, director of nurses at the health department.

Lundy has not seen an outbreak during her five years at the health department, and immunizations may be the reason why.

Families without healthcare insurance need not fret. Children, up to age 18, can be vaccinated with antibodies for free under the Vaccine for Children Program.

According to state law, schoolchildren need to have had certain immunizations to be allowed in the classroom this year, including injections to fend off polio, measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), hepatitis B and chicken pox. A diphtheria-tetanus (DT) booster also is required.

Because certain shots weren't required until recently, there is some catching up to do to make sure all school-bound bodies are filled with the proper vaccines.

"We're picking up the second booster for MMR and making sure that all children have had their hepatitis series and then getting a DT booster."

Lena Heeney, licensed practitioner nurse for the immunization department, will likely be giving the injections to the children. She has been inoculating between 20-30 children a day in the past week, and will max out with about 50 patients per day when the season peaks. That comes with a guarantee.

"I give good shots," she said.

Heeney has some strategies for parents whose young children become lightheaded at the thought of needles and immunizations. Rewards for the visit, such as a trip to McDonald's for a Happy Meal, may bring good results. Other tips include telling the child not to look at the needle when it sticks in his or her arm, and being there to talk to him or her when it does.

"The kindergartners can really fight you sometimes when getting it, and the teen-agers, I've had them sit there and cry silently," Heeney said.

Should an injection be especially traumatic, Heeney has a way to stop the whimpers and sniffles.

"For the little ones, I have some cute little bandaids," Heeney said. "They enjoy that to cover up their owies. We give them cute little stickers that they get to pick out as their reward and coloring books."

Lundy wants to remind adults that immunizations are important in all phases of life, especially where hepatitis B and tetanus are concerned. The spread of hepatitis B, she said, is a reality "due to today's society." Tetanus, she said, is prevalent among men and women who work in a job where they tend to get cut on machinery or fumble around with rusty nails. A tetanus shot is good for 10 years, but avoiding follow-ups can result in lockjaw, an ugly bacteria that causes victims to have difficulty or an inability to breath or open their mouth.

Of course, spreading preventable diseases is reason enough to update immunizations.