Find A Flu Shot

matrix : re. tetanus shots, our retired physician recommended tetanus shots as much as forty years ago for any one working in the garden or doing 'dirty' work. i just could not remember when i had received the last shot - so ... the german physician felt better be safe than sorry (which i much appreciated). hbg ... btw. the whole procedure, transportation by ambulance (!), tretament in emergency and follow-up in another week cost me only EURO 60 - which was re-imbursed by the ontario medical insurance - not a bad deal. however, next time i'll keep my eyes on the sidewalk instead of ...... !

i find a bit baffling why in the states people have to line up for hours to get their flu shot. we usually watch several u.s. news programs briefly in the evening and notice long lines of people in supermarkets or shopping centres lining up for the shots. when we visited our physician about a month ago, he already told us that he expected the vaccine to arrive by mid-october. so we simply made an appointment for that time (next week) and he'll take a couple of minutes to give us the flu shot. of course, people can go to public clinics, but i have never seen line-ups the way we see them stateside. ??? hbg

Suppose there was a shortage of flu vaccine just before the first snowstorm of the year? Which line would the old folks choose to wait in?

noddy : wouldn't the patient's physician or nurse be the best person to administer a flu-shot even if there are only a limited number of shots available ? just watched on CNN-news that the physician(s) looking after the members of the house of representatives will administer any required flu-shots (apparently no hour long line-ups required, and perhaps to find out that there are not enough). if there has to be rationing, would it not to be best to do it up-front rather than to have people line up for hours ? hbg

hamburger--

Right now there is a bit of flu shot hysteria. Ordinarily the shot season lasts from October through December. This year because of the shortage everyone is trying to get a shot in October. When you fit 90 days into 30 days there are problems--lines and lines and lines of problems.

Further, healthy people who wouldn't think of getting a flu shot in a normal year are joining the lines.

Madness.

I've received notice from my internist, my pulmonologist, and the clinic at work that they have no flu vaccine and won't be getting any.

I believe for a lot of people that these grocery stores and such are the only possibilities for many people. It would be for me if I was planning to get a shot.

Sure, but in my town, for the last few years, even before the shortage, only a very few doctors have even bothered to stock the flu shots. Sadly, it is simply not cost effective for them. It is much easier to tell their patients to get their shots at the supermarket or drugstore.

Wow. What a story... I've missed most of the panic, not having read newspapers or being online much since this problem came up. I'm glad that so many of you have or are going to get the flu shot. Matrix, you are really on top of this!

<Noddy -- maybe Friday morning?>

<Gads, Husker. I had no idea that you were still suffering from your strange leg infection. I am so glad that you got your shot and managed to make it through the waiting line, even enjoying the people around you. My best wishes to you.>

As we are going to be getting diminished immunizations, I think it would help if people followed the recommended "respiratory etiquette" that I read in one of the links above. The advice from the head of the CDC was: That last bit is hard but it is important. I also try to stay away from crowds and people who seem to be sick.

I've had a few bouts with pneumonia. I suppose that makes me a higher-risk person? Maybe I should take a trip up to British Columbia.

Hey, Piffka...
Long time no see! Still have your doggies???

Yeah, I have to keep up on stuff like flu shots. I'm considered high risk, and since my daughter was diagnosed with diabetes at age 4 (she's 17 now) our whole family's had to be sure we've gotten them each year. Doctors orders, so I always start looking for them early. She usually gets them at the doctor's office, but this year they weren't sure if they were going to get any, so I found her one at a store. Actually, all of us have always been able to get the shots at our doctor's offices, and if we do it that way, insurance picks up the cost of the shot and the visit. But, the past few years, we've just been getting at Costo or the grocery store where there was rarely any line. Just got jabbed and went shopping...simple.

I've had pnumonia in the past, and was told that once you get it you are even more susceptible getting it over and over again. You should consider looking into that pneumococcal vaccine sometime.

If you're considering going to B.C., check this out:

Vancouver, B.C. Plans Flu Shot Clinic For Americans
October 20, 2004

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- So many Americans are crossing the Canadian border for flu shots that the Vancouver, British Columbia, health authority has set up a one-day clinic for Americans only.

The clinic will be held Oct. 30 at the Health Authority in downtown Vancouver at 601 West Broadway.

The clinic charges a $30 fee, plus $20 for the vaccine.

There's a separate clinic at the Vancouver International Airport. It's charging $17 for a flu shot.

The provincial government has purchased 900,000 flu shots for those in B.C. considered at high risk for the flu.

Vaccine for others is purchased separately from suppliers.

Get more information and make appointment online at: travelclinic.vancouver.bc.ca

http://www.kirotv.com/health/3837373/detail.html

Noddy...
I'm so sorry that you're still having trouble getting the shots. It's been like that up here in the Seattle area, too. This story was on the local news yesterday:

Will The Extra Flu Doses Be Enough?

October 19, 2004
By April Zepeda
KOMO 4 NEWS

SNOHOMISH COUNTY - More flu doses are on their way to the nation's supply. But is it enough?

With a big question mark on which areas will get them, the frenzy to find a flu shot now keeps increasing.

Snohomish County workers tried to prepare for the demand, but they were just too outnumbered,

The Health District set up six new phone lines just handle the calls for flu shot appointments, but it wasn't enough. So many people called in for 3,000 doses of flu vaccine, the phone system overloaded.

No one could make outgoing calls and employees turned to their own cell phones.

"Well, the phones have not stopped ringing. We hang up one call, another one is there," said Records Manager, Nancy.

The nation's Secretary of Health insists there will be enough vaccine to meet the needs of 42-million high-risk people. And vaccine manufacturer Aventis just announced they will be able to make another 2.6 million flu shots available in January - bringing the supply to 58-million for the entire flu season.

"So there still may be an opportunity for people to receive flu vaccine before we actually have influenza in the community," said Dr. Ward Hinds with the Snohomish Health District.

But health officials are still waiting to find out where the additional flu shots will go as the demand for the current supply keeps growing.

By early afternoon, all the vaccine at the health district was spoken for, with flu shot appointments stretching to the end of November.

But calls keep coming - for the waiting list.
http://www.komotv.com/healthwatch/story.asp?ID=33582


hamburger...
The long lines for the flu shot aren't the norm down here, but over the past decade, more and more people have been getting flu shots. Then, after 9/11 and the anthrax scares, everyone was told to get the shot because anthrax poisoning and the flu present so similarly at the onset that the medical community couldn't tell them apart until it was too late. On top of all of that, last year, there was a miscalculation in developing the formula of the flu vaccine rendering it almost useless. As a result, there were more deaths, including many young children, attributed to the flu. So, this year when health officials were pushing and urging the public to get a flu shot people were ready - and then the supply was cut in half.

mac 11 and Phoenix are right. Doctors aren't getting much vaccine if any even if they usually have in the past, this year. When I called my daughter's doctor they put us on a waiting list, but because they were so uncertain about whether or not they'd get any vaccine they told us that if we found any at a store "clinic" to go for it. A lot of the vaccine that is being sent out is going directly to the county health departments and either they are dispensing the shots themselves to high risk children and the elderly or they are rationing it out to private doctors for high risk patients only, and they're not getting anywhere near enough.

Re the tetanus shots, I've always gotten them every ten years unless I've been injured and then even if you say you've had one, they still want to give you another one just to be sure.

I'd just never heard of the gardening connection until the nurses mentioned it...or maybe I just wasn't paying attention.

Last time I inquired, there was no vaccine in Humboldt county as yet, and I am not surely first in line. We do have a costco, of which I declined membership a couple of years ago, after spending too much for too little for a while.

Though I gather one doesn't have to be a costco member to use the pharmacy. Is that true for flu shots?




Now there's a question...



I am more interested in the one-time pneumonia shot, I think I should get that from my md, what e'er else befalls.

ossobuco- From what I understand, there is plenty of the pneumonia vaccine around. I even read somewhere that it was suggested that people who did not get a flu shot should definitely get a pneumonia shot, if they are due for one.

After all, one of the main complications of the flu IS pneumonia, and the shot would give people some level of safety. Ask your doc!

If you need a flu shot, I hear you can go to the halls of Congress. Supposedly all of our reps, their staff, etc get one.

Yeah, I had read that. At first blush, people may believe that these people are getting special privileges. Maybe so. But think about what they do. They are all over the country, going to meetings, and constantly shaking hands. (Hand to hand contact is a primary way of spreading the flu).

I think that all of us need to invest in a good, germicidal, no-water hand wash. I always keep one in my car. I started to do it when my husband and I were taking road trips. After awhile, you start to feel grungy, and the hand wash is very nice. The bottles come in little sizes too, that you can keep in your pocketbook.

Now I realize that the hand wash may be good to stave off the flu, and other ailments, like the common cold.

Haha, Squinney. Good idea! I think if Congress people and all their staff need these flu-shots (while in Seattle, they'd be getting fined), then surely teachers would as well. Is there a more hands-on job? And children are so.... drippy.

I have a no-water germicidal hand wash, Phoenix, and have also found a nice-smelling, reasonably good hand creme that also is germicidal. Good stuff.

Matrix! Hi!!... yes, it has been a long time! Yes, I still have my doggies. What a good move that was for our family -- they are so good! I was bragging about you and your crows to some friends last week. You still have them, right?

Thanks for the information about the Canadian shots. I've just come back from a trip, but I was thinking of going to Victoria this fall. I suppose it would be better, if I decide to go, to use one of the "clinics" they've set up for Americans. They sound spendy but I suppose that is in Canadian dollars.

PIFFKA wrote : "I have a no-water germicidal hand wash, Phoenix, and have also found a nice-smelling, reasonably good hand creme that also is germicidal. Good stuff. " ... i listened to some dermatologists discussing the pros and cons of germicidal handwash and cream. they were definetely NOT in favour of it unless in an emergency. they stressed that good old soap and water (or simply plenty of clean water) is a better choice. they claimed that the germicidal creams do not kill off all germs but actually only weaken some; apparently these weakened germs often have a tendency to develop resistance to germicidal creams etc. and may cause real harm. i watched that discussion when the germucidal detergents soaps etc. came on the market a few years ago - and as i said the dermatologists weren't in favour of it. what the real implications are i'm not sure of; but i have noticed that our dentist and our physician uses SOAP and water. hbg

FLU SHOT
here are the recommendations from an ontario/canada health unit re. handwashing : >>> WASH YOUR HANDS !

Re: FLU SHOT


I totally agree, Hamburger. I think that the best choice is the standard way of washing for a variety of reasons including that germicidals tend to make bacteria more resistant. But, as your link mentions:



That's why I thought that the germicidal hand lotion was a good deal while I was on my car trip.

I am wondering about the flu and the deaths of so many people in the last century due to the epidemics. It is truly astounding that in the midst of the "homeland security" era, this government has our large and concerned populace nearly locked into such a stupid situation.

<shaking head... couldn't they see this coming?>

I am so sorry for those folks who now must fear for their health and what the coming winter will bring. These seem like some bad governmental choices, probably beginning with the un-willingness to buy back the immunizations that are not used, just as we would milk products or wheat. The most important decisions sometimes seem to be given away for penny-pinching and profit-based goals and where is the goal to help people? That should be the reason for health care and it needs to be controlled by a government seeing that goal as foremost. Just my opinion.

i wonder if the facemasks one sees the people in china wear in the winter offer any substantial protection against flu infection; they must be pretty uncomfartable i'd think. i have some simple facemasks that i use when sanding wood, and i find that if i do any kind of work i start sweating quickly when i have a mask on. i do remember that during the SARS scare in canada, the hospital personnel working with suspected SARS infected patients wore masks (and even so-called 'space suits'). hbg