H1N1 shot

[marydell]

I finally got my H1N1 vaccination--as an asthmatic, I'm in the high-risk group that gets the shots first, but there just haven't been any doses available around here. My clinic finally got some, though, even though they're still waiting for their designated supply--Walgreens drug store/walk-in clinic got their supply, so my hospital-affiliated clinic went and bought 50 doses from Walgreens. Nice to see that distribution is totally fucked up for this thing, with the regional medical centers having to wait in line behind the drug stores. Ah, well, I'm glad they're clever enough to correct the situation on their own.

Anyway I got my seasonal flu vaccine a couple of months ago, and now that I have this, I should be able to take care of Charlie properly if he gets either flu, without ending up in the hospital myself. Yay. Somewhat ominously, they gave me an official vaccination record with the lot number and manufacturer of my dose...presumably so I can report it to the CDC if I have a problem. I'm not crazy about taking a brand-new vaccine, but between that and being exposed, unvaccinated, to a brand-new flu? No contest.

Note: google's Flu Shot Finder shows all locations by me are out of stock, which isn't true--so if you're looking for a shot, calling around will probably get you better results than looking for it on the internet.

Comments

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you were able to find a shot (and gladder you were looking).

Because I keep seeing this misconception: The only difference between the regular (seasonal) flu shot and the Novel H1N1 ("Swine Flu") shots available in the US is the number of and identity of the antigen(s) included. The seasonal shot has three antigens; the Swine shot only has the antigen associated with that strain. But they're grown the same way, formulated the same way, etc. The antigens in the seasonal shot are changed every year (because of antigenic drift and shift in flu viruses) and the vaccine isn't re-tested every year - changing it to the swine flu antigen instead of the most-likely-suspects for next year is not a big difference.

(The intersection of antivaccine movement and the swine flu hysteria is driving me *bananas*. There was a story on MSN about a 4 year old girl who nearly died from complications of swine flu - and the mother was quoted as saying she still wasn't sure about getting the girl's 2 year old brother immunized against swine flu. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!?)

Ahem. <kicks soapbox into corner; adopts innocent pose>

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

Just got mine today.