Find A Flu Shot

Yesterday there was a story in the local newspaper. The Agency for Aging would be making appointments today for flu shots on Thursday--550 doses available.

I left Mr. Noddy to make the appointments. He made one for himself, but not for me. By the time I was back from grocery shopping there were no appointments open.

Perhaps I will make a point of breathing on him...just to test the vaccine, you understand?

0 Replies

Quote:

U.S. Worries Flu Shots May Go to Waste

U.S. Health Officials Consider Easing Restrictions on Flu Shots, So Doses Don't Go to Waste

The Associated Press

Dec. 16, 2004 - Two months after the government recommended that scarce flu shots be reserved for people most at risk, health officials are now worried that tens of thousands of doses could go to waste, and they are considering easing the restrictions.

It turns out that the furor over the vaccine shortage and the government's response have had an unintended effect: More than half of all elderly or chronically ill adults have not even tried to get flu shots because they figured they would not be able to get one, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is expected to hold an emergency conference call Friday to discuss whether to amend its earlier response to the vaccine shortage and recommend that more people be allowed to get shots.

"Many of us are now concerned we will not use vaccine supplies. The only sin this season is to leave vaccine on the shelf," said Dr. William Schaffner, an influenza vaccine expert and head of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.

The problem is that a flu shot is only good for the flu season it is made for. Any excess must be disposed of at the end of the season. The flu season begins in the fall and can last through April.

The medical center at Vanderbilt said it has vaccinated most of its high-risk patients and still has 3,000 doses left over. Health officials in California, Colorado and Washington have expressed concerns similar to Schaffner's.

The surplus already has prompted some states to loosen their immunization restrictions, allowing people as young as 50 to get a shot. Others are considering allowing flu shots for anyone who has close contact with those in a high-risk group.

"That almost opens it up to everybody," Schaffner said.

The government in October recommended that healthy adults delay or skip a flu shot this season to save vaccine for the estimated 98 million people in the country who need it most the elderly, infants or those with chronic conditions. Those people are at highest risk of severe complications or death from the flu, which kills on average 36,000 people and hospitalizes 200,000 each year in the country.

The recommendation was made after health officials learned that nearly half of the country's flu shot supply would be cut off because of contamination at vaccine maker Chiron Corp.'s plant in Liverpool, England.

Only about 65 million doses of vaccine will be available this season in the United States, including a nasal vaccine that is safe for only healthy people.

The CDC study found that as of last month, only about 35 percent of high-risk adults, mainly senior citizens, had gotten a flu shot. Another CDC study released Thursday found that people at high risk often do not get vaccinated for various reasons, including a misperception that the shot causes influenza and the belief that it would not be easy for them to get the vaccine.

As a result, health officials have been scrambling to find a way to make use of the remaining supply of flu shots before they go to waste.

"Everybody should have it who wants it," said Dr. Paul Glezen with the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Schaffner said: "We really have to work hard to get rid of it."

Source

0 Replies

I got a flu shot yesterday. I went with my sister and she encouraged me to ask if I could have one, so I did. The ladies at the clinic said no problem. I was in and out in about 2 minutes, including filling out the release form. $26. Now I wish I'd taken a pneumonia shot, too.

0 Replies

Yay, Piffka!

You can get the pneumonia shots anytime of the year. They're not like the flu vaccine where they have to change the formula all of the time...Only difference is they usually cost twice as much as the flu shot.

0 Replies

Walter...

On the Seattle area tv stations, they are now talking regularly about the flu shots being available for the general population. They are even reminding people that if they got a flu shot last year, and don't get one this year, if they get the flu it will probably hit them much harder because their body will be trying to fight off the previous year's flu instead of this year's flu. Hopefully, more people will be like Piffka and go and get a shot.

Noddy...

I'm really happy for Mr. Noddy that he got his shot, but am concerned for you that you haven't been able to get one yourself...(btw, breathing on him for not making an appointment for you sounds like an appropriate thing to do - or lick his plate before putting his dinner on it (without him knowing, of course!). Just to test out the vaccine.... Laughing

Hope you're soon able to find one for yourself.

0 Replies

Thanks, Matrix. My chances are looking better and better.

0 Replies

Matrix500 wrote:

- or lick his plate before putting his dinner on it

Heeeheee. This would be a medical-sanctioned opinion, right?

Seriously, Noddy, I hope you get a flu shot soon.

0 Replies

Piffka wrote:

Matrix500 wrote:
- or lick his plate before putting his dinner on it

Heeeheee. This would be a medical-sanctioned opinion, right?

Um...yeah, right! (Actually, there used to be a family with several boys in it who used to get back at each other by doing that to another one's plate - among other things - when having to set the table...NO! I never ate anything at their house, but I did find it somewhat amusing, albeit gross when they were having a little family spat.)

Wanted to wish everyone here Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

0 Replies

I fotgot to mention - when i went to the hospital on Tuesday for my check-up, there was a sign on the door that asked visitors with coughs and colds to please stay away

0 Replies

Well.......................old big mouth got her commupance. After all my carrying on about the flu shot, I got the flu anyhow. Saturday, I was feeling depressed and tired. I had no reason to be. Sunday, I started to feel warm, and had a miserable post-nasal drip, that was going into my chest. Sunday night, my fever went up to 103.1.

Went to the doctor today. He told me that I had the flu. He also said that the flu shot only is effective in 60% of the people who take them.

The thing that I am grateful for, is that my symptoms seem to be mild. The flu shot probably DID cut down on the seriousness of the disease. I am not very achy, just tired. The doctor gave me a prescription for Tamiflu:

http://www.tamiflu.com/

This drug is supposed to stop the flu bug in its tracks. Today, my temperature is normal, and I really don't feel too bad.

The idea is to start the drug within 48 hours of the appearance of the symptoms. I probably just got in under the wire. What I found interesting though, is that he gave a prescription to my husband for a prophylactic dose. He takes the Tamiflu once a day, I take it twice. I was reading the info on the drug. Apparently, if you are working in a place where there is a flu outbreak, you can take the stuff prophylactically for up to six weeks.
It does NOT replace the flu shot, though.

0 Replies

Interesting, Phoenix, about tamiflu, and for you, I am sending some chicken soup a2k express. Take care, girl.

0 Replies

So sorry to hear that it caught you, Phoenix. I'm glad that the Tamiflu seems to be working, though. Hopefully it will keep Mr. Phoenix well, too. Take care of yourself and keep drinking that chicken soup that osso is sending you!

0 Replies

Hey Osso, that was pretty good soup, <grinning, with a noodle hanging out the side of her mouth>.

I think that the Tamiflu is working. Today I had no fever. Stayed up all day, and don't really feel too bad. Still coughing a bit. I am going to stay away from people for the next few days, 'cause I am not sure how long it is before I become non-contagious, and I don't want to start an epidemic!

0 Replies

That does sound as though the Tamiflu is effective. I'll bet you're happy... a full-blown case of the flu could easily last two weeks or more.

There was an alarming prospect broadcast in yesterday's paper about the possibilities of the Bird Flu. I wonder if Matrix gets the Seattle PI and saw the article?

Here are some bits:

Quote:

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Bird flu virus mutation could spread worldwide
Humans would have no immunity, CDC chief says

By PAUL RECER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- The Earth may be on the brink of a worldwide epidemic from a bird flu virus that may mutate to become as deadly and infectious as viruses that killed millions during three influenza pandemics of the 20th century, a federal health official said yesterday.

Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said scientists expect that a flu virus that has swept through chickens and other poultry in Asia will genetically change into a flu that can be transmitted from person to person.

The genes of the avian flu change rapidly, she said, and experts believe it is highly likely that the virus will evolve into a pathogen deadly for humans.

<snip>

The mortality rate is very high -- about 72 percent of identified patients, Gerberding said.

<snip>

"The reason this is so ominous is because of the evolution of flu. ... You may see the emergence of a new strain to which the human population has no immunity."

A study already has shown that the virus can infect cats, which then infect other cats, which Gerberding said was "another harbinger" of the possibility of a human pandemic.

0 Replies

Hi, Piffka...

My dad worked for the Seattle Times so I read the Times and P.I. online if I get to them. I get the TNT (Tacoma News Tribune) instead anymore because the news in it is more geared to where I live.

ANYWAY...

I didn't read the Bird Flu article in the P.I., but I have been following the story on the CDC's & WHO's websites for quite some time. My t.v. is almost always turned onto CNN & MSNBC during the daytime so I've been hearing the updates they've been having on the Bird Flu on a regular basis, too.

It's scary stuff. I started reading about the possibility of the Bird Flu spreading to humans - and then actually spreading to humans - several years ago and the quiet panic that the scientists were experiencing watching it. That quiet panic has been getting louder and louder during the past 18-24 months. I really hope that they are able to come up with a solution to it before it really takes off and gets out of hand.

WHO's Avian Flu Homepage
http://w3.whosea.org/en/Section10/Section1027.htm

CDC's Avian Flu Page
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/index.htm

Thought this article from CNN today was interesting - especially considering the fiasco re this year's "regular" flu vaccine, etc.:

CDC: U.S. Ready If Avian Flu Breaks Out
Wednesday, February 23, 2005 Posted: 2:11 PM EST (1911 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The nation's top disease expert said Tuesday that the federal government has prepared a plan to stem a possible outbreak of avian flu among humans, although the danger of it is not high.

more
http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/02/23/cdc.avian.flu/index.html

0 Replies

Interesting links, Matrix. (So your dad was a journalist? Cool. We should also be subscribing to the News Tribune since the Seattle papers don't cover our area either.)

I went on to read this article: Farmers 'key to bird-flu control' -- where it said that "free-run" chickens are the problem. That's the only kind of chicken I buy anymore (Ranger brand, you probably know it). It is astonishing to me that free-range chickens would be less healthy than those grown intensively -- three to a small cage, never seeing the light of day, etc. That seems odd.

Speakng of birds... I thought of you & "your" crows the other day. I was at a lecture about crows & ravens at the Bloedel Reserve given by John Marzluff, a professor at the UW who is writing a book about them with Tony Angell. Very interesting. Did you know that as late as the 1970's there was only a very small population of crows in Seattle? They've increased dramatically in the last thirty years. Of course, with the West Nile Virus looming, their numbers are expected to drop. Strange how birds are a vector for two of the nastier diseases we worry about.

0 Replies

Whoops, Piffka...
Sorry I missed your post here (don't know how it happened, but I guess I I just didn't see it).

My dad worked for the Times for over 35 years and for a lot of that time he was in charge of putting the front page (among other things) together. He was one of the few left there who actually had the skills to put a paper together w/o using a computer (although he also knew how to do it that way, too).

"My" crows are still around, but a lot of the old ones have died off and in the past couple of years, I haven't worked with the younger ones as much as I had the others in years past. Neighbors to the back have 4 kids under the age of 5. The birds still call out to each other and come flying into my yard every time I open my back door, though. The sit up in one of the trees where they can look into my kitchen window. And, now there's a very large and very well fed hawk in the area. It "steals" little birds out of the bird feeders the people across the street have and I have to watch my little dog whenever he's out because of it. Still, the hawk is beautiful to watch and his eyes are amazing!

Re West Nile virus - because of the drought conditions in the Pacific N.W. this year we are supposed to have an explosion of insects. In addition to not looking forward to having to be concerned about it harming humans and dogs in the area, I'm not looking forward to the destruction it will cause to the bird populations...

0 Replies

Back to the topic...

Did you guys see this in the news?

Quote:

Scientists rush to destroy pandemic flu strain
WHO concerned samples may set off global epidemic

I appreciated this quote from Dr. Nancy Cox:

Quote:

"It wouldn't be a smart way to start a pandemic to send it to laboratories because we have people well trained in biocontainment," she said.

Obviously... Shocked

CNN now has it on the front of their website:

Quote:

Labs told to destroy killer virus
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 Posted: 3:54 AM EDT (0754 GMT)

(CNN) -- The World Health Organization has told laboratories to immediately destroy samples of a flu virus after a Canadian lab identified it as a strain that triggered a 1957 pandemic.

The order to destroy the vials was sparked by a slim, but real risk that the samples could spark a global flu epidemic.

Five thousand vials of the 1957 strain of the "Asian flu" virus were sent out to more than 3,700 labs in 18 nations from September until early April.

That particular strain killed more than one million people, including about 70,000 in the United States, in a 1957-58 pandemic.

Because the virus has not been included in flu vaccines since 1968, anyone born after that would not be immune to that strain...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/04/12/flu.recall/index.html

0 Replies

Whew... thanks for the update, Matrix. It does seem extraordinarily incautious to be sending that kind of stuff around.

Thanks for telling me about your crows. One good thing about the explosion of insects expected... they will be of all kinds and many birds will be happily eating them up. My horse has already been innoculated against West Nile... the dogs will be getting good protection from Advantage or Frontline. Remember how awful fleas used to be?

0 Replies

This has been the top news here .... and in a couple of more countries:

Quote:

The full list of countries and areas where the virus was sent is: Bermuda; Belgium; Brazil; Canada; Chile; France; Germany; Hong Kong; Israel; Italy; Japan; Lebanon; Mexico; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; South Korea; Taiwan and the US.

Source

0 Replies

Find A Flu Shot

Related Topics

Quick Links

My Account

able2know