H1N1 vaccine: have you received it?

[alfredo]

My wife is high risk, I am not. Neither of us have received the vaccine. We're hoping for December. As it is, we can't go to the family Thanksgiving dinner because of the risk to my wife. I'm cooking up a feast just for her.

What measures are you taking to protect yourself.

[harun]

1. Wife got it because she is a medical professional. Not available to me yet.

[Electric Monk]

2. Not gonna bother with the shot, as I'm pretty sure I had the flu already in August

[Freddie Stubbs]

3. Yes, and I have not become paralyzed or autistic

[JoDog]

4. Doctors can't give it to me yet

I'm 32 and not pregnant. I have 2 roommates with compromised immunity who haven't gotten it yet, and I'm scared of bringing it home.

They are eligible for the vaccine, but are unemployed and can't afford it right now.

I'm starting to get a little ticked. It's as though because I'm older and not breeding, the government and doctors think it's OK if I get sick and die.

[Electric Monk]

6. Don't panic, most cases are mild

It's a flu, it's not the 1918 Spanish flu.

[alfredo]

7. My wife has a compromised immune system. It prevented her from using

her education degree. I am also worried that I will bring something home that would kill her. I carry hand sanitizer in my car and use it before I enter the house. If I was in close contact with people, I change clothes before touching her.

[pinto]

10. Your roomates ought to check local Public Health department for info.

They may be providing free of charge to at risk individuals. :shrug:
Public Health in CA is providing at no cost. Our county ran out in two weeks, yet we expect re-supply in two weeks.

http://www.idph.state.il.us/h1n1_flu/sf_vaccine_locations.htm

[alfredo]

14. Ours ran out.

[Shell Beau]

28. Well, I do think it should be given first to those who

may be at higher risk to die from it. I am not in the high risk group either. I wash my hands like crazy, and I try to be smart about it. I would rather my grandmother be able to get it over me. That is just me though.

[Ms. Toad]

39. It is being given for free most places.

Around her, there is some charge for the seasonal flu, but the H1N1 is being given without charge.

Check your state health department web pages - they typically have links to the local pages for the organizations in charge of distributing the flu.

[HillbillyBob]

5. I have gotten my seasonal shot.

I m high risk and have gotten seasonal shot for years now.
The last time I had flu I had pneumonia set in ICU sux! (the drs/nurses were nice, but you cannot really rest with all the noise)
My dr wants me to have the h1n1 when it come available, why the hells does wallstreetbanksters get theirs first?

[CanonRay]

8. No, and I'm high risk

Can't get it anywhere.

[Strelnikov_]

9. What vaccine n/t

[bigwillq]

11. No

Letting nature take its course. Washing hands, covering my mouth when sneezing, getting plenty of Vitamin C.

[dana_b]

12. I work in a hospital

and there's not enough vaccine to go around yet. Some of our doctors, nurses and patients have gotten it but not all. I'm a nurse and although I'm on the units everyday, I'm not doing bedside care anymore so I can wait a bit anyway.

[Oregone]

13. Got it 2 weeks ago

Big clinics in BC

[laundry_queen]

47. Yep, I got it 2 weeks ago.

First clinic in our area in BC. I'm high risk so it was no problem. They've had 2 other clinics since, with another one scheduled next week. My 2 yo had her 1/2 dose so we have to go back in a week to get the other half. I'm glad BC seems to be more organized than most other provinces w/regards to the H1N1 vaccine.

[laundry_queen]

48. yes I'm replying to myself...

Just wanted to add my oldest child had the actual H1N1 flu - she wasn't tested but many kids in her school were and all were H1N1 positive so we assume that's what it was. She was pretty sick, her fever got as high as 104.6, with tylenol not even touching it. Advil finally worked though, after I called our health hotline. She's still coughing, although she's nearly completely recovered. She got it 2 days after I got my vaccine, so I wasn't even immune yet, but luckily I didn't catch it, even being her caregiver. From everyone I've talked to around here, this flu is a bit worse than usual. I'm glad I'm now immune.

[AlienGirl]

15. Yes; I am high risk and my doctor recommended it. nt

[bluetrain]

16. High risk for fear mongering? Stop listening to the talking heads or look more closely at who is

funding them.

[AlienGirl]

17. You mean the talking heads on Fox raising all the "OMG vax-is-genocide" fears?

The Beckite NWO-fearing anti-vaxxers are getting their funding from the forces that want Obama to have a "Katrina moment." Duh.

Tucker

[alfredo]

18. I listened to my doctor at the VA.

[Quantess]

19. No, I haven't, and I don't plan to, even if it becomes available.

I never get the flu.

Even if I were exposed to H1N1, I'd probably just feel a bit run-down for a day.

Other people can go ahead and have my shot. I don't need it.

[TZ]

20. You realize even if you don't get sick

You can make other people sick? You might not need it but not everyone can get the vaccine and it's a bit selfish to say"I don't need it"

[Quantess]

25. Consider this, finger-wagger:

I view myself as being unselfish for letting higher-risk people get the limited quantities of vaccine, of which there isn't enough to go around.

[Techn0Girl]

35. Please stop fear mongering and Groupthink ....

All the poster has to do is stay home for a day or three until he feels better. If he nevergets the flu then he probably knows what he is doing.

It's just a flu - and one with a much lower than overage mortality rate as well - it's not the Zombie Apocalypse.

[Quantess]

42. Thanks. I used to be a teacher, and I'm sure I was exposed to several flu viruses

while working with children. I've had two flu shots, but I doubt they made a difference. I have only had the flu once in my life, when I was about 16. (I'm a woman, BTW).

While I agree it's not zombie apocalypse, do you have any basis that "it's just a flu - and one with a much lower than overage mortality rate as well"?
I had the impression H1N1 had a slightly higher mortality rate than the garden variety influenza, but I could be wrong.

[Techn0Girl]

44. No Problem ....

Here is a link that quotes a Harvard researcher in infectious diseases who looked over the figures and deduced that H1N1 has a lower (or at least not worse) mortality rate.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32877953

Additionally - you don't really have to be a researcher necessarily....
We know that there are 36,000 deaths every year from regular influenza (you can google that easily by looking for '36,000' and 'CDC') .... we also know that the year is almost over - just a couple months left .... we know that H1N1 has accounted for only 4000 deaths this flu season ....

So that means that this year H1N1 has accounted for only less than 25% of deaths occurring in a normal flu season. I'm no infectious disease specialist but I think that you would agree as well that this sort of very off the cuff analysis seems to indicate that H1N1 has not had a huge mortality impact (really a rather small one) this year.

But don't take my word for it... listen to the Harvard guy at the link above :)

[spoony]

21. Got it today.

And a kitten, but they were unrelated. Both are fine though :)

[aikoaiko]

22. My university gave it out for free --- so I got one.

3 days ago. No problems to report.

[gleaner]

23. We haven't had it ....

We are both high risk due to chronic illnesses, but there is no vaccine. We can't even find regular flu vaccine. The pharmacies in the area bought it all up so that the doctors had none available when they went to order it. The pharmacies charge $40 per shot, and will not bill Medicare for anyone, so we were waiting for the doctor.

To try and protect ourselves, we avoid crowded areas as much as we can, take bottles of hand sanitizer when we do go out, avoid standing too close to people and wash our hands frequently or sanitize when we are at home. It's a bit paranoid, but we also handle packages and mail with latex gloves. Viruses can live on paper and environmental surfaces for varying periods of time, so we try to avoid any kind of exposure.

What I want to know was what happened to the "plentiful" stock of regular flu vaccine? The government went from saying there was plenty to saying there is a shortage. We called the county to try to scare some up and they told us it was all gone and they don't know of any more arriving. They gave the doctor's office the same information.

[pinto]

55. See here -

http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/docs/H1N1PODSCHEDULE_CITY.pdf

[gleaner]

66. Thank you very much ....

It was very kind of you to give me that information. I will follow up on it ASAP. I really appreciate your help.

[FourScore]

24. Got it 4 weeks ago. I was one of the first in my town. I'm high risk. n/t

[Robb]

26. Yes. Attenuated virus, nasal-style, a little more than a week ago.

Mrs. Robb as well. No waiting at the clinic, no shortage apparently in Colorado. I have to say I'm surprised at how few DUers seem to have the vaccine available to them should they want it.

I'm worried about how things will be 18 weeks from now, looking at CDC patterns, but if that goes by I think we will have dodged a bullet.

On the plus side, I used a N95 respirator they gave Mrs. Robb at the hospital a few weeks ago when I was mulching leaves yesterday, and had the most allergy-free yard cleanup of my lifetime. :D

[Shell Beau]

27. Nope. Not in the high risk group.

If and when it becomes available for those not in the high risk, then I will get it.

[HughMoran]

29. I wish. Everybody at work is getting it and it's making me sick

...just trying to avoid getting sick :(

[Odin2005]

30. Yep. Vunlerable adult, got the shot.

[WillowTree]

31. I'm not in a high risk group and my doctor said that it isn't necessary.

[alfredo]

43. That's what I was told.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

32. Almost a month ago.

[Posteritatis]

33. In a risk group, got it today, ow my arm, still waiting for the projectile leprosy to kick in. (nt)

[alfredo]

38. That's not as bad as getting chronic yodelling Goiter.

[Egnever]

34. Nope, don't need it I had H1N1

It was incredibly anticlimactic, it did go through my whole household very quickly though as well as my sons whole classroom. Everyone got it and it was over in a day for each of us including our 5 month old.

The only reason we know it was h1n1 is we took the baby to the doctor just in case when he got sick everyone else was over it before it became worrisome.

[Xithras]

65. Same here. I already caught H1N1, so I'm immune.

Very anticlimactic for me as well. While it wasn't pleasant by any measure, I've had hangovers that were worse.

[nemo137]

67. Same, although it sucked pretty epically.

On the other hand, I did get to play a bunch of DDO and got a bunch of reading done.

[Techn0Girl]

36. Haven't got it - Don't plan on getting it.

This flu doesn't seem to be any worse than the average seasonal flu. Plus I was exposed to an H1N1 flu back in '77 so I have some immunity already.

If I get sick I'll just stay in bed with Ben and Jerry and get better which is the same plan that's worked for me for half a century.

[Ms. Toad]

37. Didn't plan to . . . and since I spent the last week off work

with a 103-104 degree fever, aches, slight sore throat I think it would probably be redundant.

[demodonkey]

40. Have no healthcare. Can't afford it. nt

[alfredo]

41. Are you a veteran? If so, call the VA. Check with your local health department.

[Robb]

50. It is free. nt

[TorchTheWitch]

45. still not available here

dammit.

[rebecca_herman]

46. Yes

I got the vaccine because I help care for a newborn family member, however I am happy I was able to get the protection for myself as well.

[LeftyMom]

49. No need, I had the illness. Wasn't a big deal, honestly.

:shrug:

[Mutley]

51. Nope, and I probably won't either.

I haven't had any sort of flu shot since I was a kid. I don't come anywhere near the high risk group, so even if I wanted the shot, I couldn't get it. Perhaps if the supply increases, and everyone who really needs it is able to get it, then I will go and get it. Until then, I will have to take my chances.

[Shagbark Hickory]

52. If there was a drive-though place giving free vaccines then I might but

judging how the UK has seen 2 straight weeks of decreases in new pig flu cases, I think that it could possibly peak here soon. Something like 22 million people have come down with it in the United States though and I don't like those odds.

Pig flu during a busy week can cost me a lot of money in lost work and lost customers. So without the vaccine, I will refrain from crowded institutional settings, hotels, schools and things like that and take other precautions.

[Techn0Girl]

61. You're still calling it pig flu over there ?

Here in the U.S. the pork producers actually got our government agencies to stop calling it that. We are ruled by corporate overlords here.

[Shagbark Hickory]

62. I'm in the US , I was just saying that the UK, which started getting pigflu before us.,..

has seen declines leading me to think we may get a break eventually too.

And the reason I call it pig flu or pork flu is precisely for the reason you mentioned.

[Arkansas Granny]

53. No. I'm not in a high risk group. I'm doing a lot of handwashing. At work we

have put hand sanitizer out for employee use and we've been wiping down the surfaces around the coffee pot and lunch tables with anti-bacterial wipes.

[Le Taz Hot]

54. I showed up a week ago

at the Health Department sponsored H1N1 vaccine clinic. We got there 2 hours early and there were easily 500 people ahead of us. When the doors finally opened (15 minutes late), we were told the wait would be another 2-4 hours. It was cold and windy (I have asthma and can't tolerate the wind) and I couldn't wait another 2-4 hours. We went home without the vaccine. I am so terrified of getting this flu. I'm trying to stay out of public places but that's pretty much impossible (shopping, banking . . . ). And now that you mention it, *I'm* hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year (as I always do) for 17. Oy!

[julialnyc]

56. I haven't (not available for me), but I got it for my 9 month old daughter

Too many horrible cases of H1N1 in my friends children

[dembotoz]

57. i got it because i was told it was injectible viagra

Actually i am in a risk group.

[alfredo]

58. "I got the Swine flu shot" is the new pick up line.

[walldude]

59. No but it's Ok because Goldman Sachs received their supply.

You know fuck those kids and the old people, Wall Street needs to stay healthy so they can keep fucking us over.

[tandot]

60. Both my husband and I got it about 3 weeks ago

We were in the "caregiver of a child under the age of 6 month" category and a higher priority because of it.

[Kitty Herder]

63. I'm not high risk and I kind of think I had it last spring.

My brother came to visit from his home in Imperial, CA, about the time the first U.S. case was identified there. He was just getting over a nasty bug and I caught it from him. I'm hoping it was H1N1 so I have immunity to it.

[Blue_In_AK]

64. I'm not high risk

and I haven't had anything but noroviruses since 1968. I'll give my dose of vaccine to someone who needs it.

[Raine]

68. No, never had one and never will

anyway I had the flu most of the summer.