Are you waiting for a swine flu vaccine? Are you trying to find out where they are available? You’re not alone. We are all hearing the news reports about how there have been serious delays in vaccine production, and we’re not at the level that the Health and Human Services Department had promised. Why we are still using the antiquated method of eggs to harvest the vaccine is beyond me. Our government has invested in new technologies, but they won’t be around until this swine flu season has come and gone. What I find even harder to understand is the lack of information online regarding swine flu clinics in Pa. Go to www.h1n1inpa.com to find a clinic and you get a message that as soon as clinics are up they’ll fill you in. Problem is, nothing is listed, and there have been a number of vaccine distributions in our area, but they aren’t showing up there.
There is no excuse for this. The State Health Department should have given each county office a username and password for a page on their site, where they could post their information as soon as it becomes available. We have that here on WILK’s website. When Corbett blogs, he signs in, simply types in his column and posts it to the web. Voila! Believe me, we are not rocket scientists here and we can manage it just fine. Kevin’s blog, Sue’s, mine, it all works the same way. Why didn’t health officials in Pa. make sure that there was a system in place to get the information out as soon as possible? This is outrageous. When people are kept in the dark, the anxiety level ramps up.
I know of kids at high risk who haven’t been vaccinated. My pediatrician’s office has no vaccine right now. Yet my primary care office has the nasal spray vaccine which is for young people only. That doesn’t make sense. How does a pediatrician’s office get left out, but a regular office end up with the vaccine that only kids should take? Sounds messed up to me. My kids couldn’t get the spray from my primary care doctor because they’re not HIS patients. I did call my local health department and they told me a clinic was going on and to get there quick with the kids. It was the second day of the clinic and most people in my area hadn’t even heard about it. I was lucky to have just ‘happened’ upon it.
If you’re looking for a vaccine, my best advice is to call your local health department and ask. Keep calling. Word is that most places don’t know when they’re getting the vaccine, and when they get it, they start giving it. I hope the state will get a better system up and running soon, but I’m not holding my breath.
Corbett
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