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City’s firefighters get H1N1 vaccine

Fire department personnel are some of the city’s first to get the voluntary inoculation.

Meagan Engle Firefighter/paramedic Kendall Venters is given an H1N1 vaccine shot on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009

ENLARGE PHOTO

Meagan Engle Firefighter/paramedic John Fadden is given an H1N1 vaccine shot on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009

ENLARGE PHOTO

Fire Marshal Brent Hughes gets an H1N1 vaccine shot Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the city’s fire headquarters. Middletown has 2,300 doses of the vaccine to distribute to high risk people.

Staff photo by Meagan Engle Fire Marshal Brent Hughes gets an H1N1 vaccine shot Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the city’s fire headquarters. Middletown has 2,300 doses of the vaccine to distribute to high risk people.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Meagan Engle, Staff Writer Updated 1:48 AM Thursday, October 22, 2009

MIDDLETOWN — Eighteen Middletown firefighter/paramedics received the H1N1 vaccine shot Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the first round of voluntary inoculations for city’s emergency workers.

The fire department personnel are some of the first in the city to get the vaccination.

Lt. Steve Ludwig said he typically does not get a flu shot, but wanted to protect his 8-month old daughter.

“I really don’t want to bring anything home to her,” he said. “This particular strain, it just seems to be a little more widespread right now.”

Middletown has 2,300 doses to distribute first to high risk people, including health care workers, people under the age of 25, pregnant women and those with an underlying medical condition, such as diabetes, said Jackie Phillips, nursing director of the city.

Phillips has requested 30,000 doses for the city, which has a population of about 52,000.

“When people say will you have enough? — well, it’s yet to be seen,” Phillips said.

Phillips will be in the schools in the coming week to vaccinate high-risk children, followed by all children who have consent for the shot. The vaccine is expected to be available to the general population later in the season, she said.

Phillips will continue today and Friday vaccinating Middletown’s emergency responders.

Assistant Fire Chief Tom Snively said he got the shot Wednesday because wanted to be proactive in the face of H1N1.

“It seems like the illness is kind of increasing quickly,” he said.

Firefighter/paramedic John Fadden said he also wanted to get vaccinated to protect his 14-month-old baby.

The shot, Fadden said, “was not much of a sensation at all.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or mengle@coxohio.com.

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