Sasha and Malia Obama got their H1N1 vaccinations; what about my kids?
Sasha is 8; Malia is 11. And they’ve had their swine flu shots.
The White House got so many questions about the status of the First Family’s H1N1 vaccination status that they posted the answer on their website Tuesday. Both girls were vaccinated last week by the White House doctor, who followed the same protocol for applying for the vaccine through the District of Columbia Department of Health that other vaccination sites had followed. The web site said that the girls got their shots when “the vaccine became available to Washington, D.C. schoolchildren.”
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have not yet received the H1N1 vaccine. “They will wait until the needs of the priority groups identified by the CDC – including young people under the age of 24, pregnant women, and people with underlying conditions – have been met,” the web site says. The entire family did receive their seasonal flu shots.
The First Family did what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control wants people across the country to do: get their vulnerable populations vaccinated first. Because this flu originally jumped from pigs to humans, children have virtually no immunity from it; since April, 95 children have died from H1N1, and another 7 died from flu that was not categorized, according to the CDC’s Situation Update page. Pregnant women, whose immunities are somewhat compromised and whose lung capacity is diminished by the growing fetus, are four times more likely to be hospitalized with H1N1 than the general population and even have a higher death rate, according to a CNN report.
OK, you say. I get it. And I want my kids vaccinated, but I can’t get the shots yet and it's making me crazy!
You’re not alone. The reported incidences of the flu are increasing by the week, and it seems that the shots are non-existent in many places. Original estimates said that 120 million doses of the vaccine would be available in October; later that was revised to 45 million, and then revised downward again. “We’re in a race between vaccine and virus," Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University Medical Center told CBS News. "This gives the virus a bit more of an advantage.”
The good news, and there is some, is that H1N1 vaccine production jumped last week. On Tuesday, CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden said that millions of new doses had arrived at federal quality-control warehouses and were ready to be sent overnight to community vaccine centers. And his advice to doctors and health departments distributing the shots is this: “Give it out as soon as it comes in, because more is on the way.”
So how do you find out if the swine flu vaccine is available in your area?
Try this, on a daily basis if you need to. But be kind -- the health workers you're talking to are just trying to manage the situation the best they can:
1. Call your family doctor’s office.
2. Call your county health department. If you don’t know the phone number, just type the name of your county, your state and “Health Department” into Google Maps.
3. If you have children at a college or university, call their campus health department to find out the status for vaccines for students.
4. Call a local drugstore that has a medical clinic inside, such as CVC or Walgreens, and ask them what their status is.
In the meantime, don’t panic. Get your information from solid sources – The CDC’s page is updated daily. Teach your kids to sneeze or cough into their elbows and to wash their hands as often as they can. And keep an eye on President and Mrs. Obama, because by the time they get vaccinated, all our priority groups should be taken care of.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/10/27/vaccinations-first-family
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/28/swine.flu.pregnant/index.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/17/eveningnews/main5247937.shtml
http://www.medconnect.com.au/tabid/84/s17/Paediatrics/ct1/c333987/H1N1-V...
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
Add A New Comment9 Comments
Diane - Thanks so much for this information. Given the extensive amount of news coverage on the H1N1 virus, I've been surprised by some of the conversations I've heard among people angry that others were able to get the vaccine ahead of them, and expressing a sense of entitlement about how they should be able to get it too. For the sake of all of us, the most vulnerable to this particular strain need to be the first ones to get the vaccines. Waiting a few days may seem hard, but it's nothing compared to watching friends and neighbors suffer the consequences of a serious illness. Thanks Diane for helping us with resources to stay informed.
Take good care,
Pat
I am upset because my kids both have asthma, although all children should be vaccinated, mine are in an especially vulverable category and they do NOT qualify for the mist that all the healthy kids can get. In our County, Ventura, CA, we have NO flu shots, there is no protocol for doctors to issue any lists to Public Health stating which patients truly meet the criteria for a shot. My pediatrician didn't bother ordering shots, which really upsets me as well. My hands are completely tied. I am bringing my 4 year old to work with me because the kids at her preschool are sick! Public health keeps telling us next week, then the week after that, then the week after that........I am sooooo upset! :(
You would think that kids with asthma or other preexisting conditions would be some of the first to get the shots--I am upset for you! Especially of concern is that the other children are sick as well--I would not want to leave my child there either!
Everybody here lost their common sense ??? The wsine flu vaccine is extremely dangerous. Maybe not right away, but the side effects can come later for many. YOu really want to inject your body with poisons. Please just look at the ingredients. Where this world is going? Wake up please before is too late. Sickening and depopulation is an ongoing process, and one of the biggest help for it are the vaccinations especially now the swine flu vaccine. Please please listen to your commmon sense and read the ingredients!!!!
Anon,
What ingredients are you specifically concerned about? Are you in the United States?
This thread contains a link to a listing of the ingredients by country in the H1N1 vaccines. It may help you :
http://www.empowher.com/news/herarticle/2009/11/02/h1n1-swine-flu-deaths...