Anyone planning on going to the DC H1N1 clinics?

[Anonymous]

Just a heads up--I'm not sure what the deal is with DC or other counties, but I am going to the Prince George's clinic. They require appointments for their vaccinations. So make sure wherever you go, you either have an appointment, OR they allow walk-ins. I'd hate to arrive to one of those zoos and find out I needed an appointment!

[Anonymous]

Question: will our husbands qualify? I am scheduled for a C-section next week and my husband wants to get his swine flu shot. Will he qualify to get his shot tonight in DC?

[Anonymous]

I just got back from the H1N1 clinic at Cardozo High School in DC. They are strictly limiting it to pregnant women and children. I heard a couple pregnant women ask if their husbands could get it and they said no. I arrived early, around 4:30, and was around the first 20 or so people in line. They were overall pretty organized, in my opinion. There was a bit of a delay and confusion on actually getting the vaccines out on the tables once the first people were sitting in the chairs with the nurses, but otherwise not bad. I walked out a little bit before 6. Also, I am pregnant and was able to successfully request the thermisol free vaccine.

[Anonymous]

Do you have to literally STAND on line? (sorry for the caps). I'm really having a rough 3rd trimester (just finished doubling over in pain on the bus at the end of the day) & cannot imagine standing for 2 hours. My DH does not feel like coming along. Then again the risks are too high not to get it. Thanks in advance for any info.

[Anonymous]

No - they have you wait in the auditorium seats. They also had chairs out in the hall for pregnant women.

[Anonymous]

by the way do they ask for proof if you are taking care of an infant less than 6months of age? because my husband will be going alone.

[Anonymous]

The clinic is only for pregnant women and children 6 months - 24 years. They were enforcing that when I was there, so I doubt your husband will be able to get it.

[Anonymous]

So they DO have the thimerosal free vaccine????

[Anonymous]

Also, do they need verification you are pregnant? I just got a positive on an at home pregnancy test last week, and my doctor wants me to wait two weeks to come in for my first visit. Will I need something from my doctor if I am not obviously pregnant?

[Anonymous]

We went to Ballou, and it was a bit different than what I am hearing about Cardozo. We got there a bit before 5, waited about 15 mins. We were about #20 in line. My father was with me, as was my 2yo son. I am 8 months pregnant. I can prepared for the worst (with a chair, snacks, even a dvd player) but it was a breeze. We went in, filled out forms and were getting our shots by 5:30pm.

At first they told my dad, who is 65 (not in a risk group and not a DC resident for that matter) that he could not have a shot, but then later, when there were literally 5 people in line, someone asked him if he had gotten a shot and he said he was turned away, they got him in line and got him a shot within 10 mins. I asked if my husband would be eligible bc he will soon be a caretaker of a child under 6 months, and they said yes, but I really think that answer would vary depending on who you ask. I think they were not turning anyone away because there were so few people at the Ballou location. There were at least 2 other non pregnant moms who got the shot while we were there.

We were back on the road home to the Hill by 6:15.

On the thimerosal free, no they did not have it at Ballou, but they gave my son the mist, which does not have thimerosal.

[Anonymous]

This is all super helpful information. Thank you so much for keeping us informed of your experiences.

[Anonymous]

They do NOT have the "official" Thimerosal-free one in DC. They only have the Novartis one which is limited in the use of preservatives but DOES have some in it, supposedly trace amounts. (see below for all the distinctions). I went to DC tonight, around 4:30 and got out around 6:15. They are only giving the vaccine to pregnant women and children at this time, although there were several Dads there.
It was fairly orderly although there was some sort of glitch at the beginning where it appeared they were making people be "observed" for 10 minutes at each shot station afterward which of course backed everything up. And the people administering the shots don't seem particularly well practiced on how this was all going down but I'm sure that will get better with time. The clinic was also supposed to start at 5 and probably started actually around 5:15. Sorry, but it's sort of typical DC where no one knows exactly what's going on and it's slightly disorganized but eventually things get done. All things considered, not so bad.

Various versions of vaccine:

* CSL Brand: FDA-approved for individuals 18 years of age and older

* Novartis Brand: FDA-approved for people 4 years of age and older. There are two forms of this shot: multi-dose vials (with Thimerosal used as a preservative) and pre-filled single-dose syringes (with Thimerosal used in the manufacturing process, but extracted before the final production)

* Sanofi Brand: FDA-approved for children 6 months of age and older. There are two forms of this shot: multi-dose vials (Thimerosal-free) and pre-filled single-dose syringes (Thimerosal-free)

* Medimmune: FDA-approved nasal spray for individuals 2-49 years of age (Thimerosal-free)

[Anonymous]

I also went to the DC clinic last night. I got there at 4:30 and finished around 6:30--I think they took a few rows of people out of order. The overall experience was okay but the person giving my shot did not seem super qualified (as an example, she started putting her gloves on AFTER she had my shot uncapped and ready to go; also she asked me to open my own bandaid while the needle was still in my arm....?). In the end, no big deal I guess. She also told me my shot was preservative free when it turns out it had a trace. Anyway, in the end it was fine and I am glad I went. My husband is at the clinic in Rockville this morning, which is open to all CDC priority groups, and there were over 500 people in line (with sleeping bags, etc) an hour before it opened. My advice to pregnant women is to go to a clinic only for pregnant women and children as it sounds like it will be much faster.

[Anonymous]

I also went to the DC Cardozo location last night.

A few answers to questions that PPs have asked:

You do NOT need to have DC residency to get the shot at a DC clinic if you are part of the CDC priority group they are targeting there (ie, pregnant, young children)

You do not need to provide proof of pregnancy (I'm 16 weeks and not showing yet, but I took an ultrasound photo just in case. If you're really recently pregnant, I guess you could bring your BFP if you haven't seen a doctor yet).

As others have said, they had the multi-dose vial injection (some Thimerosal), the single-dose injection (trace Thimerosal) and the nasal spray (no Thimerosal). As a courtesy to others, please make your decision about which type you want to receive before you're sitting with the person giving vaccinations. The parents on either side of me were both arguing with their health worker about the Thimerosal/autism connection and IMO that is a waste of other people's time at that point ... if you're there to get a shot, make your decision about the amount of Thimerosal the injections contain before you get there!

I was third in line at one of (I think) two doors at 4:15, was let into the auditorium around 5, assessed by about 5:20 but didn't get my shot until around 6:20 due to the glitch PPs mentioned.

I second what a PP said about the people giving the vaccine not inspiring confidence. One volunteer told me the "glitch" that made us wait about 45 minutes once our intake/consent forms were assessed is that they had a problem with figuring out the right needles to use with the shots.

When I finally reached the woman who would give me the vaccine, I told her I was there because I was pregnant and she said, "Have you talked to the doctor that is here to make sure you should get the vaccine?" That really worried me because the whole point of the vaccination clinic was to vaccinate pregnant women and young children! That's a very basic miscommunication if the people giving the vaccines don't even know who their target population is! And having waited 2 hours already I wasn't about to lose my place in line to run across the room and consult with a doctor about the obvious.

Hopefully these are all first-time glitches that will be quickly resolved once they get more practice.

[Anonymous]

Ditto what the PP said--I would just add that if you're not showing yet, I actually would bring some proof. I am only 14 weeks and not really showing and I was stopped at Cardozo last night and questioned by one of the workers. I had a note from my Dr. so it was fine but I don't know what would have happened if I didn't have the note.
I just think it depends on who you encounter and if they believe you or not. It probably won't matter quite as much when they start allowing other "regular" people to get the shot but now there's such a limited group, I think they are really trying to be diligent. Anyway, best to be prepared!