Throngs of worshippers flocked to a Long Island church yesterday to be vaccinated against hepatitis after some 1,300 received communion wafers from an infected person on Christmas.
Congregants were forced to wait for up to two hours, and some older church members left in disgust and planned to return today.
The possible spread of hepatitis A, the least serious form of the disease, occurred at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Massapequa at the 10:30 a.m. and noon Masses on Dec. 25.
“It’s packed,” said Rose Fredricks, 84, yesterday. Fredricks was too frail to wait in line so she and her husband, John, 89, left, although they plan to come back to be vaccinated today.
An elderly woman who declined to give her name left the church in a huff. “The line is too long. I waited for 30 minutes and still did not get the shot,” she said.
Health Department officials yesterday said only the original infected person has been diagnosed with the disease so far.