Suzanna Bainbridge had one major reason for getting an H1N1 vaccination on Monday night, and it was all explained in one simple point to her stomach area.

Bainbridge, a St. Charles resident, stood in the area for those who just received their H1N1 vaccine at Monday night’s public clinic at St. Charles North High School. She said she got the shot for her unborn child, and the mothers she stood with got the shots for their extremely young children.

“I think if it weren’t for the baby, I wouldn’t be here,” Bainbridge said. “But if I got I got any kids sick, I’d feel pretty bad.”

Rigel Nelson, a St. Charles resident standing with Bainbridge and a young child of her own, said that she hopes the large event, which had drawn over 2,000 people in the first two hours, would have a positive effect.

“I hope (this event) brought enough people to eradicate the disease,” Nelson said. Nelson continued by saying the shots are controversial, but said she didn’t want to take any chances with her kids.

St. Charles resident Margaret Walker sat in the bleachers after her shot. Volunteers told her and everyone else in the vicinity to wait there for a few minutes to make sure there was no allergic reaction to the vaccine.

Walker had already gotten her normal flu shot last month. She said she doesn’t want to take any chances in getting sick, as she as cancer nodules on her left lung which she said her and her doctor are keeping an eye on.

“I figured the sooner the better,” Walker said about attending the first week of vaccinations. “I (didn’t want to) pick it up somewhere. I’m very cautious with it.”

The vaccination process had been going smoothly, according to Kane County Office of Emergency Management Sean Madison. Madison was helping to oversee the event, which started 10 minutes late at about 4:10 p.m. Madison said by about 6 p.m., they had handed out 2,000 of the 4,000 available bracelets.

“We’re right where we wanted to be,” Madison said. He said that past the health screening area, they were vaccinating about 13 people a minute, a goal the Kane County Health Department has set for the initial events.

Earlier, Health Department Executive Director Paul Kuehnert held a press conference in Kane County’s Emergency Management Center. Up on the screen, it was noted that at 2:40 p.m., there were already 125 people in line at St. Charles North.

“That wasn’t the plan,” Kuehnert said with a laugh. “We’re going to go with the flow tonight.”

Kuehnert said the have been preparing for this type of emergency event for years with drills and exercises. He said while there wont be enough for everyone who needs it at the first event with only 4,000 doses, subsequent events should be able to serve everyone.

There are 64,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine ordered by Kane County so far. The County has so far received 17,500 doses.

“We’re confident we’ll have more (by next week’s clinics),” Kuehnert said “We will have enough for everyone who needs it.”

Kuehnert said they wanted to start pushing doses of the vaccine out even though there were not enough to stop the outbreak of H1N1 in the area.

While Kane County clinics are for residents only, Kuehnert said they aren’t asking residents to prove anything.

“We’re asking people to be good neighbors,” Kuehnert said. “If you fit into (one of the groups), you should come. If not, you should wait until the end of the year (when more vaccinations are expected.”

Kuehnert said there are 192,000 people in the area who fit into an H1N1 risk group in Kane County. He said he expects there to be enough vaccine to go around to pharmacies, doctor’s office and hospitals by year’s end.

Kuehnert also expected there to be anywhere from a half-an-hour to two-plus hour wait at the clinic. He thanked residents in advance for taking the department’s message to heart and putting their own time aside for their health.

Back at the clinic, families do everything they can, including running up the slopes of the St. Charles North campus, to get a space in line before it’s too late.

St. Charles resident David Amundson was in line for about one hour and 20 minutes at about 5:30 p.m. with his two sons Ethan and Asher. He said he hadn’t heard from any official as to if they would be making it inside for a vaccination.

“I was trying to be (the calm one),” Amundson said. He said he told his sons they were going to get some snacks, bring homework and sit in the hallway while they waited.

“It’s just anything but that,” Amundson said with a chuckle. “The timing couldn’t have been any worse with St. Charles East closing down.”

Although the lack of outdoor bathrooms and what he said to be a disorganized line bothered Amundson, he said they would be waiting for the shots and would hope for the best. He said he trusted the vaccinations could do good things.

“What do you have to go off of?” Amundson said. “For everyone that tells you the shot will make you sick, you have another person telling you it will make you better. I’m not one to doubt (health officials). I’m hoping there wasn’t 4,000 people in line ahead of us. That’s my only fear.”

Kuehnert said they are so far unsure when the H1N1 vaccines will be available to the general public.