H1N1 vaccination - NFC

This is merely my cry for help:

I'd love to get vaccinated for the H1N1 virus but don't know how and where to do that. I am willing to pay money for it, but since I don't seem to fall into the risk groups, I don't seem to be eligible.

Any word from any of our doctors on here?

I had already one hell of a case of the flu in October (which might have been H1N1, but I can't say) and really don't want to go through that misery again.

 

Ann says the availability should start opening up. At least here in DuPage county it seems to be.

 

That's the thing. I don't mind waiting some more, but I'd really appreciate some kind of guidance from our "leaders". Instead we're getting reports about people who don't want the vaccine because of the side effects.

 

I'm not a doctor on the internet... so take this with a grain of salt.

the flu is waning. Just not seeing as many cases. Some get it and are sick for a few days. No big deal. I was vaccinated over a month ago. Who know if it helped? The seasonal flu shot sure did not (little to no "seasonal" flu out there)

 

Looking for "leadership"? don't hold your breath.
I was seeing kids with fevers who had been vaccinated WEEKS before any health care providers I knew got the vaccine (and these kids WERE NOT high risk)

Obama and company want to demonize Big Pharma, yet want them to crank out as much vaccine as possible for free at the drop of a dime (and still carry all the liability!). Make sense?

 

I'm not trying to turn this into a political debate or we'll have to move the thread somewhere else. And as most know here I'm a big Obama fan, but on this issue I'm just shaking my head in total disbelief.

Often enough I'm bashing Europe/Germany/Switzerland for their ridiculous ineffectiveness and strange government laws, but they did a much better job coming up with the vaccine than we did. What I saw and see here is beyond belief amateurish.

Still hoping I'll get the vaccine before I get this horror flu.

 

We think Mike (my son) had it about 3 weeks ago. I ate off his plate, drank from his glass, and guess what happened to me? Nothing! Ann had the shot because she works in the special infant care unit. So, it you really need to get some exposure to get the antibodies working, you can kiss Ann 1x for $30 or 3x for $100.

 

Andreas, You have a PM.

 

Yes, thank you.

 

I have never had a flu shot for anything in my life and I don't plan on starting anytime soon.

 

I felt the same way for most of my life and that was my approach. But after I got this horror flu in October where I really felt like I was dying or at least wished it at moments, I decided to do anything possible to never have that experience again.

Last night the news reported that IL is getting 1.8 million shots of the vaccine. That was the whole story. WTF? That is exactly what drives me nuts here. What am I supposed to do with that piece of information? How many of those shots come to Chicago. Who will get them. When? Where?

They keep dangling a carrot in front of our eyes without a plan.

 

Check the Cook County Department Of Public Health web site: http://www.cookcountypublichealth.org/ You can call them and make an appointment to get vaccinated. If you aren't in one of the priority groups you may or may not be eligible. (You could always say you regularly watch a child under 6 months of age or that you work in healthcare.)

We took the kids to the DuPage County Health Department today (had to make the appointment about 3 weeks ago) and they asked if Mom & Dad wanted the vaccine as well. We said sure, so all 4 of us got the vaccine for no cost. (Other than paying our taxes.)

Good luck!

 

Our Health officials continue to taunt me:

A few days ago Skokie announced they were done with their vaccinations of the risk groups and have 20,000 additional vaccines. So they invited people from other counties. However they explicitely excluded the non-risk group I am in.

Yesterday a Cook (?) county health official warned people not to get complacent and to postpone the vaccination just because the virus is not spreading as fast anymore. Then they invited all the Risk group people to come in for vaccination.

They are treating us as if we could never be in contact with any children or elderly people. I ride the bus everyday where somebody coughs next to me, but I'm not allowed to get the vaccine?

PS: I'm not asking for freebies. I'm willing to pay. But no.

 

Andres -
do you have a primary care doctor? If so, call him / her.

if not, call Northwestern U. or Rush, or ILL Masonic, or U of I... or look on their websites.

or:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5677412_h1n1-vaccine-cook-county_-illinois.html

http://www.idph.state.il.us/h1n1_flu/vaccine_locations/sf_vaccine_locations_cook.htm

 

Don't you have a pregnant wife, care for your elderly parents and have an infant at home?
You've been in Chicago long enough to get with the program.
Sounds like you may have already had it though. Wouldn't this effectively be inoculation the hard way?

 

then there is this:

http://mailview.custombriefings.com/mailview.aspx?m=2009120801acep&r=1991225-26a5

kind of conflicting (as it usually is) but the message is there

New analysis drastically reduces estimate of swine flu fatalities.
USA Today (12/8, Sternberg) reports, "A team of researchers from the USA and Britain on Monday dramatically scaled back estimates of the severity of the swine flu epidemic." According to the new analysis, "the death rate from the current wave of H1N1 flu cases probably will fall in a range that extends from far lower to slightly higher than the estimate of 36,000 deaths caused by seasonal flu in a typical year." The findings are said to represent "a marked reduction" from an August report by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology which called for a death toll "anywhere between 30,000 and 90,000." Bloomberg News (12/8, Randall) says the study "supports estimates released last month by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, finding a similarly low death rate of about 1 of 5,600 sick patients." Reuters (12/8, Fox) reports that lead researcher Marc Lipsitch also gave a similar projection in an estimate he made back in September.

In their "White Coat Notes" blog, the Boston Globe (12/8, Cooney) says that the new analysis, which was published in PLoS Medicine, "examined data from Milwaukee and New York City from April through July. The two cities were chosen because of the consistent way they reported their data."

On its front page, the Washington Post (12/8, A1, Stein) reports that the findings, along with the apparent peak of infections, have prompted leading epidemiologists to predict the swine flu pandemic "could end up ranking as the mildest since modern medicine began documenting influenza outbreaks." However, public health officials "worry that people may become complacent about getting vaccinated, which could prove disastrous if a third wave of infections swells later this winter or the virus mutates into a more dangerous form." Others highlighted the especially high death toll on children and young adults. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said the child fatalities were "a tragedy any way you look at it."

USA Today warns against "complacency" regarding H1N1. USA Today (12/8) editorializes that while H1N1 "appears to be ebbing...no one knows whether" it will come back worse next year. If it does, "complacency could prove as dangerous as the virus itself, which by mid-October had killed 3,900 people in the USA, including 540 children." USA Today criticizes HHS for being "dependent on the same method of producing vaccine it used a half-century ago." The current method led to delays of H1N1 vaccine, the paper argues, shortages made worse by "scattershot" distribution. USA Today adds that "the vaccine is flowing" currently, but concludes that hoping for a weak virus is "not a reliable plan."

 

Well, my doctor doesn't have any of the vaccines and based on the threads you post there isn't any in Chicago or even Cook county.

My doctor suspects I already had it since my flu episode was so violent. But given the list of H1N1 symptoms, I doubt it.

I don't like to play games and lie to authorities. There shouldn't be a need for that. On one side they are concerned people aren't willing to get the vaccine and on the other they refuse to give it (or sell it!) to those who want it.

Just learned that France has an abundance of vaccines: They got something like 70 million shots, yet the people don't want it. For comparison the US has so far about 40 million shots, but a population, that's about 6 times the size of France. So somewhere up at the highest levels somebody screwed up big time.

 

The dean of my medical school required all of us (students) to get the season flu at a minimum and the h1n1 as an option. I got the seasonal flu shot before the h1n1 became available just to get it out of the way (I never opted for a flu shot in the past). I haven't gotten anything yet, but then again my only patient contact as a first year student is my assignment at the cancer center in breast imaging and biopsies...

I'd stop by your nearest med school that has a clinic as they will probably have it. Maybe $20 for it. I have no idea how much it costs as I got mine at no charge (part of tuition I suppose).

 

There are cities around Chicago that have the vaccine in abundance (Skokie for instance) and they have invited folks from other towns to come and join. But they only accept people of the risk groups (like you).

 

True (last line). Is there a particular reason you want it over the regular seasonal vaccine? I really have no idea what to tell you. I just checked my email and I got an update from our school on the vaccine and that I can still take it, haha, but I don't want to. I wish I could donate it to you since you really seem to want it. Here are the age groups and outlines they stated in the email:

 

They are tackling two different types of viruses. You end up with the flu on either one, but getting vaccinated just for one doesn't do the trick.

PS: Sorry for the lingo. I'm sure a doc on here can explain this a lot better.

 

I know they are two different strains and H1N1 is what people are going crazy about ("swine flu"). I'm asking if you feel you're at some particular risk for it, but just not enough to get a waiver to get it (for example, if you use public transport all the time and get exposed to a lot of people). Or if you just want to be careful all the time and keep up with as many vaccines as possible. I'm not worried about getting it and dying even though I'm 24 and sometimes venture into hospitals when I'm not staring at thousands of powerpoint slides.

 

I'm pretty healthy so no particular risk except for riding the bus everyday.

The reason I'm so after this is, that I had a severe case of the flu in October where I thought I wouldn't pull through (and at times thought that would actually be a relief). After that I decided to get vaccinated going forward as I don't want to go through that horror again. I spent literally entire nights coughing my gutts out in the bathroom. Not pretty.

 

I got mine a week ago. Before I was given the shot the nurse had to fill out paperwork on each patient receiving the vacine required by the CDC. I was asked two questions. (1) My age (2) Why was I considered at risk. I am curious however. (1) If I had refused to answer would she have given me the shot anyway? (2) Would my doctor have provided the CDC that information over my objections? I guess now I'll never know. I think I will tuck this under my hat until..... next year.

 

On WGN this am., the high risk restriction is lifted and anyone in IL can get the H1N1 vaccination starting next week.