Find A Flu Shot

walter wrote : " In Germany, we get the flu vaccine from at least 8 (eight) different producers - registered are a couple more. " ... phoenix wrote : " The population of the US is over 4 times that of Germany. I think that difference makes for a much more complex problem over here. " ... it seems to me that the united states should have AT LEAST 8(eight) suppliers, but probably even more , considering the size of the population. however, since the u.s. drug companies can supply plenty of VIAGRA and similar drugs (which always generate a lot of smiles by the users !!!), if you can't get a flu shot you might take a VIAGRA and die with a smile on your face (it's supposed to be a joke, for heaven's sake). hbg

And therein lies the problem. People buy Viagra over and over again, and the drug companies make a big profit. Flu shots are bought once a year.

Now, if someone could find a way to develop a combination Viagra/flu shot, he would make a fortune!

Might be - but why do you think that the four times more populations avoids getting more suppliers?

corporations (INCLUDING DRUG MANUFACTURERS !) are going were the most profit is to be made, and according to 'business week magazine' the profits from viagra and similar medications ( ? ) are simply huge - besides so far there have been no lawsuits for 'underperformence' (just another dumb joke). i don't know how much television advertising for viagra and similar drugs there is in germany (i don't remember seeing any in our two visits to germany last year). in north-america you see ads for these products several times a day, and it does not surprise me that's were the consumer dollar goes. after all you probably get the flu only once a year, so why spend good money on a flu shot, right ? except when there is a shortage, then the shouting and hollering starts. i really don't think such a vital item as providing flu vaccines can be left to the pharmaceutical industry alone; government and health authorities in particular have to have responsibility for ensuring supplies. having said that, we have had plenty of problems in canada with such things as the SARS scare and contaminated blood supplies. hbg

FLU SHOTS
here is a follow-up from 'the buffalo news' >>>making flu vaccine not good business

Anyone remember the "swine flu" debacle of 1976?

Appparently the US, pushed by politics, was able to create enough of a supply of vaccine to give a shot to everyone in the country. The fact that the epidemic never happened is another story, left in the mists of history.

http://www.capitalcentury.com/1976.html

yes, i do remember the swine flu, and we went to get the first vaccination (it was an oral vaccine i believe). but i would not call it a debacle. much like buying insurance a for house fire or automobile accident, or wearing a seat belt to reduce chances of serious injury, or keeping the car brakes in good order to stop the car and prevent/reduce an accident, i consider vaccination simply a kind of 'insurance' - and a pretty inexpensive one. we've lived in our house for over forty years and never had a fire, yet i would not consider cancelling the fire insurance - i want it to be there if i need it - just like the flu vaccine. hbg

heck, I remember polio vaccine shots..
and the scratch incision for smallpox..

With all the talk about the flu vaccine, this article seems to have appeared in a timely manner:


Seniors Urged to Get Pneumococcal Vaccine
Shot offers protection against common complication of flu

The Associated Press
Updated: 6:57 p.m. ET Oct. 18, 2004


WASHINGTON - The flu-shot shortage makes it more imperative for elderly Americans to get a second, often overlooked vaccine that protects against a type of pneumonia germ that's a common complication of influenza.

Called pneumococcal vaccine, it's a one-time shot for anyone 65 or older. Younger people with heart and lung diseases, diabetes or weak immune systems need it, too.

It's not a replacement for a flu shot; high-risk patients should continue trying to find that.



'A good backup'Pneumonia, blood infections and meningitisShots covered by Medicare

"Seniors Urged to Get Pneumococcal Vaccine ". ...our physician recommended this even before we reached "the golden age". i would suggest everyone get the shot BEFORE they need it (i understand that bug is fairly indiscriminate and will attack younger people gladly). hbg

.

Have been with my mother at her doctor, routine check, like any couple of weeks.

She offered her the flu shot without being asked - according to our health authority's recommendation, everyone above 60 should get one (mother is 84).
I asked her about the possibilty that we would run short as well: she doubted that was possible in general. However, some years back, when a kind of flu epidemy occured in the UK in February, her practise nearly run short of shots, because everyone wanted to get one thus late in "the season".

I've located a flu shot for Mr. Noddy and the Powers That Be will decide whether a two-time cancer survivor with a broken hip is high risk or not. I'd rather be ill myself than comfort and cosset a suffering spouse.

Noddy24- I keep hearing rumors that more vaccine is on the way. I checked the "find a flu shot" site, and there is nothing. I really hope that the at risk people get a shot soon!

Just caught this:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041019/D85QMTNO1.html

Looks like help may be on the way!

Phoenix--

Good news. Thank you.

See here: Bush Promises All Who Most Need Flu Shots Will Get Them

Walter--

There is an Urban Legend Rumor that all flu vaccine will be distributed in the heavily contested swing states just before the elections!

btw. are you all up-to-date on your tetanus vaccinations ? last year while in germany i had to visit a hospital emergency department - i had fallen on the sidewalk and cut my lip; yes , i actually was sober !!!. one of the first things they asked for was a vaccination record. since i did not carry one, they asked when i had had my last tetanus shot. of course, i could not remember, so they suggested that a tetanus shot would be a good idea and i agreed. when i came home and checked with my physician it turned out i had had a shot three years ago. when we travelled to europe in the 1960's and seventies we had to have the yellow international vaccination record when re-entering canada, but since it was no longer required, i didn't keep it up-to-date. i think it's time to keep it up-to-date and carry it on overseas trips again. hbg

Noddy...
I'm so glad that you were able to locate a flu shot for your husband - that must be such a relief for you. And, with your history, I'd be amazed (but I guess not completely shocked) if you were't qualified to get one yourself. Good luck in your quest to secure one.


Walter...
I'm glad your mother was able to get her flu vaccine, also. There are at least a couple of a2ker's I know of who live in California who've been battling the flu for the past couple of weeks. They've been miserable.


hamburger...
I'm up to date on my tetanus vaccination. Did you know that one of the ways to contract tetnaus is by working in a rose garden? The nurses told me that getting poked or scratched by one of the thorns is a common way to become ill. I knew about other ways to get tetanus, but had never heard about the rose connection before.

And, regarding those pneumococcal infections...I guess it was 3 or 4 years ago that my dad was stricken with one of those. He was diabetic (which makes you extremely suceptible to these infections) and had bumped his forearm one evening - not even hard enough to break the skin or cause a bruise. A few days later he needed to be admitted to the hospital with an infection similar to the one that the grandmother had in the article I posted above. They had to keep him in a room in the surgical area of the hospital - actually, his room was right next to an operating room - in case they were to need to remove any of the tissues from his arm to save his life. He ended up staying in the hospital for a couple of weeks, and fortunately, they were able to avoid any surgery. He did, however, need to have a catheter inserted into his arm at the site of the infection and he was given massive doses of top of the line antibiotics for about 3 months after he left the hospital. A nurse had to visit his home each day to change the tubing and the device that dispensed the medications (he had to wear a fanny pack to hold it). Finally, it cleared up, but I've heard about the same thing happening to completely healthy children in the area. A little boy, about 10 years old, who got scratched while climbing in a tree in his yard wasn't as lucky as my dad. He ended up losing one of his arms and both of his legs and and I believe the sight in one of his eyes before he was finally able to go home. And, because the infection ravaged his body so severely, his mental reasoning was never the same as it had been before the accident.



Regarding the additional flu vaccine that is supposed to be available by sometime in January, I hope it gets here in time. I also thought you all might like to take a look at an interactive map that will show you how aggressively the flu spread around the U. S. last year. The map is set up to the progress of the flu in this country for the week ending October 9, 2004. Click on the button under the map marked "Previous" and it will take you back through our last flu season... November 2003, December 2003 and January 2004 were especially were especially bad months, although most states were affected by November 2003.

State By State - Weekly Influenza Activity Estimates (Interactive Map)
(Source - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6248862/

The local Agency for the Aging started scheduling flu shots at 8 a.m. this morning and by 9:45 when my phone call finally went through, they had booked all 2,100 shots.

I understand that area nursing homes had a special number to call.

Now, I'll have to convince Mr. Noddy to get up early-early on Friday morning for a 10 a.m. session at the local supermarket.