Posted at: 12/16/2009 7:39 PM
By: Dan Conradt

H1N1 Complacency Concerns

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- There were big lines when Freeborn County made the H1N1 Vaccine available to the general public Wednesday. One of the things health officials are fighting, along with the flu, is complacency.

In nearly 49 years of marriage, Arnold and Helen Skov have done a lot together. And now they can add H1N1 shots to the list

"I just think it's necessary to protect my health," says Arnold Skov.

The Skovs were first in line when Freeborn County held it's first public H1N1 clinic

"Up until this point we were trying to get our limited amount of H1N1 vaccine to the priority groups," says Lois Ahern of Freeborn County Public Health.

Today, H1N1 isn't drawing the attention it once was.

"That's one of the things I worry about because the news about H1N1 isn't on the front page any more we'll kind of forget that it's still here," says Ahern.

But pandemics like H1N1 generally come in three waves.

"What we're seeing now is the end of the second wave and the next one is on the way. We fully expect to see a third wave, a third outbreak of illness sometime the end of January into February," says Ahern.

And the concern is that complacency could lead to fewer people getting shots and more people getting sick.

"H1N1 Influenza can be a serious illness," says Ahern.

Just ask Arnold Skov. He remembers when Swine Flu swept the country in the 1970s.

"Yes i do. I got it that time," says Skov.

And it's something he's not anxious to repeat.

Skov says, "I was down for three days, and there was nothing i could do. I was really sick."

And even though they aren't in high risk groups, the skovs saw the importance of getting immunized

"I drive school bus," says Arnold Skov.

Helen Skov adds, "I work at the bank in Alden. I have contact with a lot of the public."