Flu Vaccine Shortages Plague Montgomery County Health Dept.

The cafeteria at Northwood High School has been transformed into a chaotic, pediatric medical facility.

Nurses are spraying doses of the swine flu vaccine into the noses of dozens of children and, as evidenced by the screams of toddlers echoing across the room, not everyone's enjoying it.

Seven-year-old Simon Chervenak was one of the braver ones. "It tasted like cold snow," he said.

Some children weren't as lucky as Simon.

The clinic opened at 4:00 p.m., but by that point, a line had already formed around the building. Clinic workers started turning people away at 4:20.

Olayinka Abiodun was planning to vaccinate her 5-year-old daughter, Blessing. But her bus ran late and she didn't arrive until 4:30. "It's so unfortunate," she said. "I'm not happy about it. The way they turned me back, [telling me] I should go back home, I'm not happy at all."

The Montgomery County Health Department held two other vaccination clinics last night, and both started turning people away within a half hour.

A Health Department spokesman says the county will hold more clinics when supplies become available.

David Schultz reports...