Moms who are NOT HIGH RISK getting the H1N1 shot ahead of high risk people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was at the MoCo clinic yesterday. I got there very early to get my DD her nasal vaccine. I was shocked when an older woman - at least 60 - wearing a surgical mask, wandered up just before opening time and blatantly tried to cut the line. She protested that she was ill. Those of us that had been outside freezing for four hours sent her packing. She headed another 30 yards down the line and tried again, and they had none of it. Seriously, what gave her the right to cut the line. I stood in line as a surrogate for my daughter, I am sure she could have found someone to do the same for her, or kept her sick self home.

Well I hope they kicked her to the curb!

This has to be a joke right? If not I am truly worried about what is going on out there.

[Anonymous]

"But it is not at all clear that these parents knew that when they got the shot - it sounds like Arlington was not telling people that the under 2 vaccine was available elsewhere. I have a 16 month old, and after reading these threads know that I can take her to Fairfax for the vaccine. But if I had gone to Arlington yesterday and been told what it sounds like these parents were told, I would have gotten the shot as well - not to protect myself (not sure if I will even get one if its available) but to protect my baby. If healthy adults are indeed gettting the shot just b/c it is easier than taking their child to a different vax site, then that is just beyond sad. But if they are getting it b/c they don't realize that they can take their child elsewhere, then I can't fault them for doing what they think it necesary to protect their child."


Sorry, I don't think it is reasonable to assume that Arlington is the only place in the DC-area where under 2s could be vaccinated. The Washington Post recently published a chart (linked to many times on this forum) listing every county's vaccination plan with links to county Web sites for more details on what vaccines were given and high-risk groups were targeted where. Granted that there are conflicting messages out there, but some basic research would have shown that there are multiple clinics/options out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The governor of Virginia was on the radio today asking people who are not in the CDC high-risk categories to please wait their turn for the vaccine until more is available so high-risk individuals can be vaccinated now.

The President of the United States has gotten his seasonal flu shot but is waiting to get his H1N1 vaccine because he is not in a high-risk group.

Please follow the good example these leaders are setting.

The funny thing about that is, high risk people specifically can't get the Flu Mist. And there's supposedly plenty of that. So the VA governor really should be saying, "If you aren't in the CDC high risk category, please go get the FluMist, to protect those who are but aren't able to get the shot."

[Anonymous]

No one kicked the lady to the curb, but instead the county people sent her to the end of the line. The rule was first come first served and in the priority groups. Nothing makes her higher priority than the pregnant women standing in that line for hours while this lady was somewhere else. If you see it differently, then that is your opinion. More vaccine will be coming. Pregnant women appear at the top of all cdc lists for a reason.

At one point before the clinic opened, the county posted a large poster that listed the "new" CDC guidelines, which would have excluded everyone over 18 even though with underlying health issues. Mask lady sure wouldn't have qualified for a shot then, even if she had succeed in cutting the line. The county modified that poster again before the clinic opened because I am sure the first ten people in line, including those that had camped out all night, did not qualify under the new priority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OMG these threads are so funny. One life is no more important than another what hypcrites. There will be PLENTY of this vaccine to go around. Seriously, go find something to do.

Says the woman who cheated the system and got her vaccine out of turn.

What a loser. I have three kids ( under 6) and NONE of us are getting this "vaccine" So, please take ours. You are paranoid and hysterical. You nuts are posting about people "stealing" your vaccine???? I hope you are able to look back at these posts in a few months to see how idiotic you sound. Try not to catch anything while waiting hours in a crowded, enclosed space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the medium-high risk group (not pregnant or under 2 but have significant asthma). I have not received the vaccine in any form, although I did get the seasonal shot. I had the swine flu in July (as did my 4 year old), and we both lived to tell the tale. I do not understand the level of hysteria on this board.

Just because you and your 4 year old are okay, does not mean everyone who gets h1n1 will be okay. When I was pregnant I was hospitalized due to complications from the flu (tachycardia). In at-risk populations, what is just an annoying illness to most people can be very dangerous or life threatening. If you already had swine flu in July you probably don't need to get vaccinated since you have developed antibodies to the virus.

Did you read the part where I said I have significant asthma? In any other flu vaccination scenario, I am considered high risk. They just changed the rules on this one. I am more likely to die from swine flu than somebody who is 6 weeks pregnant and therefore does not yet have compromised lung function. My doc hasn't yet decided whether I should get the vaccine because it could have mutated from what I had. He also thinks the vaccine should not be given until the side effects are better understood. I am not eligible for flu mist because of my asthma. But, please, carry on about how it's a national disaster that you personally could not get your flu shot and how you are certain to die if you don't get it. I'll think of you next time I use my inhaler to treat the residual effects I still carry from my swine flu bout.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It seems to me that Arlington should confirm with Fairfax that the vaccine for children from 6 months - 36 months is available to non-Fairfax-County residents. If so, Arlington should suggest that parents take those children to Fairfax and decline to vaccinate the parents if they are not high risk.

I'm unhappy with Arlington for vaccinating people not on the priority list, and really unhappy with the non-priority people who accepted the vaccine, thereby taking it away from people on the priority list.

I'm in the same place as you on this. Arlington and Fairfax should be talking to each other. The staff should be communicating this info to the parents and declining the non-high risk parents. The parents that are being offered vaccines out of turn should decline so those who need it can get it.

At the end of the day, the people that are losing out here are the ones who need it most.

Hi, health care volunteer here. Just wanted to let you know that the jurisdictions cannot decline--the vaccine is federally funded and no one can be turned away or "checked" unless they have no more.

Secondly, I would think the folks you want to get vaccinations first are those who are uninsured and have NO access to care. They are the folks who are get the sickest and who are hit the hardest by disease. And if they get sick, it will affect you, too. Think about it.

[Anonymous]

I'm a mom of 2 who got the shot early. I stood in line for 4 hours with my 4 y/o and 2 y/o at the first MoCo clinic. I did not expect to get vaccine. The nurse told me to get it, since I was there. Same as the other PP, she said, we are trying to vaccinate everyone, and you are here.

I figure it made sense, I am at my kids' daycare alot, where there are kids who can't get vaccinated b/c they are allergic to eggs, and kids under six months old. The more people vaccinated, the less likely anyone is to get sick.

If you want to be angry as someone, be angry at the idiots on the other thread who are not vaccinating their kids. And, expecially on those moron Ped. in Burke who are urging their patients not to get the shot b/c "it was rushed". These folks are putting your child in much more danger than I did by not declining a vaccine that was being offered to me.

[Anonymous]

I was the pp on the other thread who repeatedly said my playgroup friends were TOLD to get the vaccine. They never lied, the health care workers thanked them for coming at Arlington.

By the way, I asked them about this later and they received the Flumist. So as far as I know, they were not "stealing" the precious injectible shots.

Save your ire for the people who are LYING to get the shot. Those who are upfront and are told to do something by health care workers are not the same. The story changes daily about who can get the vaccine, and NO, not everyone knows where to get it. I didn't know that I could get it in DC, just learned that today.

If you have so much anger, why don't you turn it on actual mean or evil people, not moms who are just doing what the health care workers recommended to protect their 14 month old babies. Geez.

[Anonymous]

I know, the anger is ridiculous. Has anyone actually been to a clinic (not a Drs. Office, but a county clinic) that ran out of vaccine?

I guess Arlington closed a clinic one day, but they were open the next. I don't think they actually even ran out.

So as far as I can tell, anyone who cared enough to go to a clinic in the first week got vaccinated, except for the 2 year olds in Arlington where they never had the vaccine to begin with.

So all the whining is on behalf of people who didn't even get out to the clinics to begin with.

[Anonymous]

I just truly don't understand the level of hatred here. If people were really bribing, lying, etc., then maybe the "every man for himself" metaphors could come out.

But for most of the people that these posters are mad about, they were TOLD to take the vaccine. So isn't this more of a confusion and misunderstanding, then subterfuge?

I think some people's anxieties and worries about the flu feel more comfortable to them if they can turn it to anger and lash out at a perceived enemy. It is just so misplaced, and I certainly hope that no one has been convinced not to get a vaccine because of this weird anger.

[Anonymous]

There is this anxiety and frustration at the waits, and their frustration has found its outlet: the vaccine stealing mother.

They aren't actually being denied the vaccine. But someone has to be responsible for the situation. They need to vent at someone.

The phenomenon is similar to ethnic tensions that occur when unemployment goes up. That guy who lost his job needs to find a person who can be made to answer for his situation. He can't blame the company for bad times. He can't blame the government (they can't really prevent recessions). But he sees the people he's competing with for jobs, and they are a target. Maybe it's immigrants or blacks, but someone is taking his job. He's sure of it. As with the CDC rules, there is usually some thing that gives some plausibility to the accusation, but that group of people is not the problem. The numbers don't add up. The imagined enemies aren't taking the jobs that he wants, and there aren't enough of them competing for the ones he does want. But he needs to put a face on his frustration.

It's not just vaccines or unemployment. If people are upset at the taxes they pay, the best thing to do is to direct that frustration at a target. In the 80's, it was the welfare mother. In this era, it's the illegal immigrant. No one wants to hear that their taxes are being spent on social security, medicare, and defense. The welfare queen, to the extent she existed, never broke any budget. But she was the lightning rod for tax frustration.

Really, it's the same thing here. It is not always easy to get vaccinated, but anyone who cares enough can get it. Honestly, there do not seem to be enough people who care that much, or the clinics would be out of everything already.

So I say either let the anger go, or direct it in a more constructive fashion. Push the counties for more clinic times or better information flow. Ask them to spread out the clinics if the mega-clinic at Fairfax isn't working for you. Push the administrators to provide better updates on the under 2's vaccine. Whatever you think will help make things more manageable, do it. But don't go looking for a whipping horse.

[Anonymous]

There is this anxiety and frustration at the waits, and their frustration has found its outlet: the vaccine stealing mother.

They aren't actually being denied the vaccine. But someone has to be responsible for the situation. They need to vent at someone.

Thanks for your commentary. I actually agree with it for the most part. But you are wrong about people not being denied the vaccine. People are being turned away at many sites all over the DC area. Yes, more vaccines will show up. Yes, everyone will get the chance to get the vaccine eventually. But hundreds of people were turned away in Rockville. Hundreds were turned away in Arlington. The Alexandria clinic has run out. Most of the CVS minute clinics have run out.

The issue really is one of limited supply. When there is a limited supply of something, the people that need it most should get it first. H1N1 isn't even that severe of a disease, for crying out loud!! The vast majority of people that get it don't need medical treatment and are up and around in a few days. The CDC has identified which groups are most likely to suffer the rare but serious complications of this disease. And mothers of toddlers do not fall into that group. Vaccinating the mothers of toddlers will not prevent the toddlers from getting sick. The toddlers will still need to be vaccinated. And when there is a limited supply, people that don't need it should realize that others might need it more than they do.

I agree with you that the anger is over the top, especially during all this confusion when many of these women were urged to get the vaccine by health care workers. But when someone gets something they really don't need ahead of someone who really needs it, there is going to be a lot of anger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There is this anxiety and frustration at the waits, and their frustration has found its outlet: the vaccine stealing mother.

They aren't actually being denied the vaccine. But someone has to be responsible for the situation. They need to vent at someone.

Thanks for your commentary. I actually agree with it for the most part. But you are wrong about people not being denied the vaccine. People are being turned away at many sites all over the DC area. Yes, more vaccines will show up. Yes, everyone will get the chance to get the vaccine eventually. But hundreds of people were turned away in Rockville. Hundreds were turned away in Arlington. The Alexandria clinic has run out. Most of the CVS minute clinics have run out.

The issue really is one of limited supply. When there is a limited supply of something, the people that need it most should get it first. H1N1 isn't even that severe of a disease, for crying out loud!! The vast majority of people that get it don't need medical treatment and are up and around in a few days. The CDC has identified which groups are most likely to suffer the rare but serious complications of this disease. And mothers of toddlers do not fall into that group. Vaccinating the mothers of toddlers will not prevent the toddlers from getting sick. The toddlers will still need to be vaccinated. And when there is a limited supply, people that don't need it should realize that others might need it more than they do.

I agree with you that the anger is over the top, especially during all this confusion when many of these women were urged to get the vaccine by health care workers. But when someone gets something they really don't need ahead of someone who really needs it, there is going to be a lot of anger.

Yeah, but there is a huge difference between a few clinics and CVS running out (the latter has only small shipments to begin with) and being unable to get vaccinated. I could understand if someone could not get the vaccine. But what those people are really frustrated about having to go to another location. If so, it is disingenuous of them to make this about taking vaccine away from children and putting them in ICU's. This is about the frustration of lines and having to drive somewhere else.

I wrote this as someone who has made five trips so far. The first day we were tossed out of the line at Arlington because they were doing only pregnant women (Monday) Pregnant DW got it. The second, I got vaccinated but DS1 couldn't get the under 2. I ran around to three Minute Clinics and they ran out. But I'm not upset about that, so much as upset that I called CVS to confirm they had the dosage for the under 3's and they did not each time.

But I could not honestly make the argument that someone has endangered my family's health. The real problem is the lack of under 3's vaccine in Arlington, and so I will go to DC or Fairfax like the rest.

So if the frustration is about longer waits and making extra trips, say that. But don't make this about endangering public health. If you really have a concern with local policy, direct your frustration at those dispensing the vaccine.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, but there is a huge difference between a few clinics and CVS running out (the latter has only small shipments to begin with) and being unable to get vaccinated. I could understand if someone could not get the vaccine. But what those people are really frustrated about having to go to another location. If so, it is disingenuous of them to make this about taking vaccine away from children and putting them in ICU's. This is about the frustration of lines and having to drive somewhere else.

I wrote this as someone who has made five trips so far. The first day we were tossed out of the line at Arlington because they were doing only pregnant women (Monday) Pregnant DW got it. The second, I got vaccinated but DS1 couldn't get the under 2. I ran around to three Minute Clinics and they ran out. But I'm not upset about that, so much as upset that I called CVS to confirm they had the dosage for the under 3's and they did not each time.

But I could not honestly make the argument that someone has endangered my family's health. The real problem is the lack of under 3's vaccine in Arlington, and so I will go to DC or Fairfax like the rest.

So if the frustration is about longer waits and making extra trips, say that. But don't make this about endangering public health. If you really have a concern with local policy, direct your frustration at those dispensing the vaccine.

You are sooooo right about the multiple trips!! What I don't get is why some of these county run places can't do a little more communicating and sharing with each other. Like why can't Arlington get some of Fairfax County's vaccines for the 6 month-36 month crowd? Maybe trade some of their adult vas for the pediatric vacs? Wouldn't that make a little more sense than what they are currently doing?

I know, I know - hind sight is 20-20. But all the running around to try to find it - and being turned away because of lack of information about what sites really have which vaccs - is reallllllly frustrating.