HAMILTON, Ohio -- Huge crowds showed up Friday in Hamilton to take part in a free H1N1 vaccine clinic at the Butler County Fairgrounds.
By mid morning, long lines of families snaked around the fairgrounds for a half mile or more. Butler County Fair officials said they had to close the parking lots for safety reasons.
Butler County Health Department officials asked those who want the H1N1 vaccine not to come to the Fairgrounds on Friday, unless they were already in line.
The clinic is being held inside the Blue Building at the Fairgrounds. Entire families waited patiently for their turn to get to one of the almost dozen nursing stations. Nurses were busy giving out either H1N1 vaccine injections or nasal spray versions of the vaccine.
The Butler County Health Department currently over 12,000 H1N1 vaccine does to give, but it just can't handle all the people who showed up early for the clinic on Friday.
It's asking people to wait for Saturday when it will hold a second clinic at the Fairgrounds or wait for another clinic that will be scheduled and announced in the coming weeks.
Fairfield Nurse Linda Bradley came to the Fairgrounds over 90 minutes before the clinic opened. She says she did it to protect a patient with a lung condition that she cares for. She says the patient is on a ventilator."
The Butler County Flu Vaccine clinic will run on Saturday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. It is only for people at highest risk for getting complications from the new H1N1 flu or traditional flu.
Those groups include:
-pregnant woman
-people caring for babies under 6 months old
-people between 6 months old to 24 years old
-and adults with chronic illnesses and weakened immune systems.
It is still recommended you pre-register online for the Saturday H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Clinic in Hamilton. Click here to pre-register.
