Arlington H1N1clinic today

[Anonymous]

No one is advocating everyone going to every clinic. If someone shows up with an under 2 year old and he/she can't be vaccinated, and the clinic vaccinates the mother instead, that is a specific trade-off the clinic is making in order to meet the goal of protecting that under 2 year old child. Even within the CDC priority groups, under 4 year olds are listed as a special category, so trying to protect them is a reasonable step.

Unfortunately it doesn't protect the children. The children will still need to go to another clinic for the vaccine. And in the meantime, adults that are in the high risk categories are having a hard time finding the shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think you did the right thing.

There is a legitimate public health goal which is to vaccinate as many people as possible every day, given that we are right now in the middle of an epidemic. At the end of the day at each clinic there should be no vaccine left in that clinic.

The posters who are coming on here and giving you a hard time, because there may be a shortage (temporary or otherwise) at a different location, are wrong.

The people working for the public health department in Arlington, or where ever, are the final decision makers of who should get the vaccine and when and where, and if you are accurately telling them of what group you are in, it is completely ethical to accept the vaccine if they offer it.

Please explain to me why, then, health officials are designating which groups should go where for their vaccines? Why are some clinics publicly announced as geared towards just children, others just high risk adults, others just school age children? One today in PG county is open to the general public.

If it is really okay for everyone to just go to any clinic they want and get the shot, why are public health officials not recommending that?

No one is advocating everyone going to every clinic. If someone shows up with an under 2 year old and he/she can't be vaccinated, and the clinic vaccinates the mother instead, that is a specific trade-off the clinic is making in order to meet the goal of protecting that under 2 year old child. Even within the CDC priority groups, under 4 year olds are listed as a special category, so trying to protect them is a reasonable step.

But do the kids end up less protected? Are the parents less likely to get their under-2 child vaccinated promptly because they feel a false sense of security since they (the parents) were vaccinated?

[Anonymous]

http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2009/r090729b.htm

in a shortage situation, following the CDC rules would mean that they would only vaccinate the 5-18 year olds with medical conditions. That would leave plenty of vaccine to protect the under 4's, even if they had to vaccinate the families with under 4 yo kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think you did the right thing.

There is a legitimate public health goal which is to vaccinate as many people as possible every day, given that we are right now in the middle of an epidemic. At the end of the day at each clinic there should be no vaccine left in that clinic.

The posters who are coming on here and giving you a hard time, because there may be a shortage (temporary or otherwise) at a different location, are wrong.

The people working for the public health department in Arlington, or where ever, are the final decision makers of who should get the vaccine and when and where, and if you are accurately telling them of what group you are in, it is completely ethical to accept the vaccine if they offer it.

Please explain to me why, then, health officials are designating which groups should go where for their vaccines? Why are some clinics publicly announced as geared towards just children, others just high risk adults, others just school age children? One today in PG county is open to the general public.

If it is really okay for everyone to just go to any clinic they want and get the shot, why are public health officials not recommending that?

No one is advocating everyone going to every clinic. If someone shows up with an under 2 year old and he/she can't be vaccinated, and the clinic vaccinates the mother instead, that is a specific trade-off the clinic is making in order to meet the goal of protecting that under 2 year old child. Even within the CDC priority groups, under 4 year olds are listed as a special category, so trying to protect them is a reasonable step.

But do the kids end up less protected? Are the parents less likely to get their under-2 child vaccinated promptly because they feel a false sense of security since they (the parents) were vaccinated?

I think that would be unlikely. If they are motivated enough to march off to the free clinic with kids in tow, knowing that it's probably a zoo there, then they care enough to vaccinate their 2 year olds when the vaccine does become available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think you did the right thing.

There is a legitimate public health goal which is to vaccinate as many people as possible every day, given that we are right now in the middle of an epidemic. At the end of the day at each clinic there should be no vaccine left in that clinic.

The posters who are coming on here and giving you a hard time, because there may be a shortage (temporary or otherwise) at a different location, are wrong.

The people working for the public health department in Arlington, or where ever, are the final decision makers of who should get the vaccine and when and where, and if you are accurately telling them of what group you are in, it is completely ethical to accept the vaccine if they offer it.

Please explain to me why, then, health officials are designating which groups should go where for their vaccines? Why are some clinics publicly announced as geared towards just children, others just high risk adults, others just school age children? One today in PG county is open to the general public.

If it is really okay for everyone to just go to any clinic they want and get the shot, why are public health officials not recommending that?

No one is advocating everyone going to every clinic. If someone shows up with an under 2 year old and he/she can't be vaccinated, and the clinic vaccinates the mother instead, that is a specific trade-off the clinic is making in order to meet the goal of protecting that under 2 year old child. Even within the CDC priority groups, under 4 year olds are listed as a special category, so trying to protect them is a reasonable step.

But do the kids end up less protected? Are the parents less likely to get their under-2 child vaccinated promptly because they feel a false sense of security since they (the parents) were vaccinated?

I think that would be unlikely. If they are motivated enough to march off to the free clinic with kids in tow, knowing that it's probably a zoo there, then they care enough to vaccinate their 2 year olds when the vaccine does become available.

But it's available now, in DC, and the parents aren't heading there because THEY got the vaccine, so they feel that they can wait until Arlington gets it in for their children.

[Anonymous]

Are they offering the single dose or multi-dose shots to pregnant women?

[Anonymous]

But it's available now, in DC, and the parents aren't heading there because THEY got the vaccine, so they feel that they can wait until Arlington gets it in for their children.

This debate should really be over. Some parents got the shot and they really shouldn't have. I think everyone agrees that the staff at the clinic probably shouldn't be urging non-priority people to get the shot. Most reasonable people would also agree that non-priority people should not accept the shot during a time of shortages when CDC designated priority people are having to go without.

The people that got their shot out of turn are looking for some sort of absolution. They aren't going to find that here.

The people who are angry are looking for some sort of justice. They aren't going to find that here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think you did the right thing.

There is a legitimate public health goal which is to vaccinate as many people as possible every day, given that we are right now in the middle of an epidemic. At the end of the day at each clinic there should be no vaccine left in that clinic.

The posters who are coming on here and giving you a hard time, because there may be a shortage (temporary or otherwise) at a different location, are wrong.

The people working for the public health department in Arlington, or where ever, are the final decision makers of who should get the vaccine and when and where, and if you are accurately telling them of what group you are in, it is completely ethical to accept the vaccine if they offer it.

Please explain to me why, then, health officials are designating which groups should go where for their vaccines? Why are some clinics publicly announced as geared towards just children, others just high risk adults, others just school age children? One today in PG county is open to the general public.

If it is really okay for everyone to just go to any clinic they want and get the shot, why are public health officials not recommending that?

No one is advocating everyone going to every clinic. If someone shows up with an under 2 year old and he/she can't be vaccinated, and the clinic vaccinates the mother instead, that is a specific trade-off the clinic is making in order to meet the goal of protecting that under 2 year old child. Even within the CDC priority groups, under 4 year olds are listed as a special category, so trying to protect them is a reasonable step.

But do the kids end up less protected? Are the parents less likely to get their under-2 child vaccinated promptly because they feel a false sense of security since they (the parents) were vaccinated?

I think that would be unlikely. If they are motivated enough to march off to the free clinic with kids in tow, knowing that it's probably a zoo there, then they care enough to vaccinate their 2 year olds when the vaccine does become available.

But it's available now, in DC, and the parents aren't heading there because THEY got the vaccine, so they feel that they can wait until Arlington gets it in for their children.

Take a look at the clinic schedule. I'm not about to march over to the 5 PM clinic just off the Anacostia river with my one year old, just to be turned away if DC starts to enforce residency requirements. It also scares me that they were making dosage errors a few days ago. I will personally wait for the Fairfax one on Saturday because I can handle getting turned away on a Saturday afternoon.

But by your logic, anyone who was denied a vaccination at Arlington due to shortage would have the same opportunity to go over there. But this is a problem that hasn't even happened yet.

Really, folks, most of the vaccine is being held for the grade school kids. And they are not in the highest priority subgroups. So if any shortage exists, it will be taken out of there. When the CDC examined shortages, one of the big compromises they were willing to make was to split children into 4 and under, and protect them, and vaccinate the 5+ children who have medical conditions.

So if you want to be sticklers about CDC rules, it is easy to say that is where the big compromise is to be made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But it's available now, in DC, and the parents aren't heading there because THEY got the vaccine, so they feel that they can wait until Arlington gets it in for their children.

This debate should really be over. Some parents got the shot and they really shouldn't have. I think everyone agrees that the staff at the clinic probably shouldn't be urging non-priority people to get the shot. Most reasonable people would also agree that non-priority people should not accept the shot during a time of shortages when CDC designated priority people are having to go without.
The people that got their shot out of turn are looking for some sort of absolution. They aren't going to find that here.

Nope, I'm a resonable person, and IMO if you got to a clinic and the people working there urge you to get a shot, and you explain to them you aren't in a high risk category, and they say, "That's OK, the goal of the County's Immunization Program at this point is to get as many people vaccinated today as possible" -- then I think if you want the shot, you SHOULD accept the shot.

No absolution necessary. The people who did this did the right thing.

[Anonymous]

Nope, I'm a resonable person, and IMO if you got to a clinic and the people working there urge you to get a shot, and you explain to them you aren't in a high risk category, and they say, "That's OK, the goal of the County's Immunization Program at this point is to get as many people vaccinated today as possible" -- then I think if you want the shot, you SHOULD accept the shot.

No absolution necessary. The people who did this did the right thing.

Tell that to my pregnant sister, who has multiple colleagues at her law firm out with confirmed cases of the Swine Flu. She was going to get the shot at the Arlington Clinic today, but it is closed because they ran out. They ran out because they gave it to people who should not have gotten it.

[Anonymous]

Nope, I'm a resonable person, and IMO if you got to a clinic and the people working there urge you to get a shot, and you explain to them you aren't in a high risk category, and they say, "That's OK, the goal of the County's Immunization Program at this point is to get as many people vaccinated today as possible" -- then I think if you want the shot, you SHOULD accept the shot.

No absolution necessary. The people who did this did the right thing.

If you aren't looking for absolution, why are you trying to repeatedly arguing in a public forum that what you did was right? Are you trying to convince others to do the same thing? Are you trying to convince others you were right? Are you hoping others will back you up? What is your goal here?

[Anonymous]

Nope, I'm a resonable person, and IMO if you got to a clinic and the people working there urge you to get a shot, and you explain to them you aren't in a high risk category, and they say, "That's OK, the goal of the County's Immunization Program at this point is to get as many people vaccinated today as possible" -- then I think if you want the shot, you SHOULD accept the shot.

No absolution necessary. The people who did this did the right thing.

CALM DOWN. Seriously. My comment about absolution wasn't meant to be a fight.

The dictionary definition of absolution is:

1. act of absolving; a freeing from blame or guilt; release from consequences, obligations, or penalties.

It seems like one of your goals here is to free those that got their shots out of turn from blame. Some of them seem to feel guilty, and it also seems like you are trying to make the case that they shouldn't. That, my friend, is absolution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Nope, I'm a resonable person, and IMO if you got to a clinic and the people working there urge you to get a shot, and you explain to them you aren't in a high risk category, and they say, "That's OK, the goal of the County's Immunization Program at this point is to get as many people vaccinated today as possible" -- then I think if you want the shot, you SHOULD accept the shot.

No absolution necessary. The people who did this did the right thing.

Tell that to my pregnant sister, who has multiple colleagues at her law firm out with confirmed cases of the Swine Flu. She was going to get the shot at the Arlington Clinic today, but it is closed because they ran out. They ran out because they gave it to people who should not have gotten it.

Please let her know about the Alexandria and DC clinics.

[Anonymous]

Nope, I'm a resonable person, and IMO if you got to a clinic and the people working there urge you to get a shot, and you explain to them you aren't in a high risk category, and they say, "That's OK, the goal of the County's Immunization Program at this point is to get as many people vaccinated today as possible" -- then I think if you want the shot, you SHOULD accept the shot.

No absolution necessary. The people who did this did the right thing.



Tell that to my pregnant sister, who has multiple colleagues at her law firm out with confirmed cases of the Swine Flu. She was going to get the shot at the Arlington Clinic today, but it is closed because they ran out. They ran out because they gave it to people who should not have gotten it.





Please let her know about the Alexandria and DC clinics.

She knows about them, but it may take some time for her to get there. She planned her schedule this week so she would have Thursday morning off to go to the Arlington Clinic. She had to rearrange clients and court dates with her coworkers to do that. As part of the trade off, she picked up some of her coworkers case loads that require her to work later in the evening - so the DC clinic isn't an option, at least not today. I'm sure she's not the only one inconvenienced by this situation. I am willing to bet there are hundreds of people who were planning to go to the clinic today who are now unable to.

[Anonymous]

This is about inconvenience? Tell her to go Saturday to Fairfax when she doesn't have client work.