Asthma patients wait for H1N1 vaccine

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - The Centers for Disease Control has released guidelines addressing which groups of people should be a priority to receive the H1N1 vaccine first. The list includes children with chronic health conditions, such as asthma, but Rhode Island officials are not placing children with that condition ahead of other kids.

Now many parents of asthmatic children are asking Health Department officials to reconsider their vaccination plans, to give children with special needs quicker access to the vaccines.

Steve Merolla of Warwick is worried about his six-year-old daughter, Isabella, who suffers from asthma. She is not scheduled to receive the shot until December 10th, when the rest of her class is vaccinated. Merolla wants officials here in the Ocean State to consider following the CDC's guidelines.

Rhode Island Department of Health Spokeswoman Annmarie Beardsworth responded by saying although the CDC has laid out the guidelines, individual states are in charge of exactly how they plan to carry out their vaccinating schedules.

Beardsworth also says all children in Rhode Island and pregnant women are first in line to receive the shot. She adds that those two groups are already in front of health care workers, first responders, college students, and adults with underlying medical conditions.