Small Talk: Dr. Walter Davis

Detroit's flu czar urges wider vaccinations

Kimberly Hayes Taylor / The Detroit News

For weeks, Dr. Walter Davis was like a town crier, moving around Detroit as fast as he could to warn people that H1N1 was coming and to get immunized against it.

It seemed his message mostly fell on deaf ears. Parents failed to sign consent forms to have children vaccinated at school. Few people trickled into health and community centers to get vaccinated.

The 46-year-old Wayne State University Medical School graduate was perplexed, and he feared people would have to die before Detroiters would react.

As of Thursday, state officials report 22 Michiganians have died, including a 6-month-old, and more than 53,000 people have recently been hospitalized.

Now, the pandemic flu coordinator for the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness says he hopes more people will get vaccinated.

With people dying from H1N1 and tens of thousands of Michiganians being hospitalized, are people getting the message that H1N1 kills?

People in the communities that are getting sick are getting the message. People in the city of Detroit are still kind of hesitant to come in. I'm continuing on with my plan and getting everything set up for the day they see someone they know get sick or die. I'm expanding available locations. All our public health clinics are open during regular hours and on Saturdays.

How are Detroiters responding?

Not as well as we would like. Half of people coming to Detroit clinics for vaccinations are people who don't live in Detroit. We're not turning anyone away. We are taking it to the streets, going into schools. Detroiters need to step up because supplies are limited, and we can only hold it for so long. We're keeping track of how residents are responding and hopefully, it will start picking up a bit.

What is the most important thing for people to remember?

You are either going to get sick from H1N1 or get vaccinated for it. Only a few people have immunity to it, and they were exposed to a swine flu virus in the 1950s when there was a pandemic.

What do you believe it will take for people to get your message?

Education, and once people start seeing the number of hospitalizations and deaths, and know people who actually have it. Hopefully, we can look across the state and see that people really do have H1N1. If it is north of Eight Mile, it's going to hit south of Eight Mile. Hopefully, we won't have too many cases before people decide to get vaccinated.

ktaylor@detnews.com (313) 222-2058