I got my flu shot the day after it became available to the general public, a release that was earlier than planned. I was flying the next day and thought I might as well get it before getting on a plane (close quarters, recirculated air, and all that).
I’m still waiting for it to be given in my area for adults 24-64 with underlying health conditions. They only added us to the eligible list last week, so it might be a while yet. I’m annoyed that healthy children could get it earlier, because those of us in our mid-20s to early 30s are no more immune to it than them given we too were born after the last flu like this.
I have yet to see a reason why I shouldn’t get the shot. Therefore, I got it.
Same here. I figured 45 minutes of standing in line and an evening of feeling mildly ill would be less of an interruption to my schoolwork than getting H1N1.
I’m not in the high-risk group, although my husband and son are. My son got the “up your nose with a rubber hose” variety and my husband got the shot last month.
I work for a satellite campus of a large university. It really irritates me that we got a big announcement last week that the H1N1 would be available at no cost to all faculty and staff. Oh, wait. That means all faculty and staff on the main campus. It seems no one can figure out how to drive 750 or so doses 90 miles up the interstate. :mad:
I got the “regular” flu shot when it first came out. I also paid for my roommate to get it. I have a newborn niece and roomie & I have mutual friends with a newborn. Roomie delivers pizza so who knows what he might bring home. Since we share a bathroom and share “surfaces” (kitchen sink, fridge door, etc) I just didn’t want to risk it.
I stood in line with my mom for 4.5 hours to get the H1N1, because of said newborns. While I’m not the primary caretaker, I see them both 1 or 2 times a week, so I feel like I did my part to keep them safe.
I got the shot last week since I saw no reason not to get it. It was free, and there was no line, so it took a grand total of 2 minutes (I had to fill in a form). I never noticed any side-effects, beside a tiny bruise at the injection site. Better than possibly getting knocked out for a week or two.
I took the vaccine. I take Enbrel; one of the side effects is Death. 
I couldn’t go to work/volunteer/get lunch unless I got the vaccine. So I got it back in Mid/late October
No. I had what my doctor thinks was novel H1N1 in October (back before there was any seasonal flu going around). He prescribed Tamiflu and Levaquin because I have moderate to severe asthma and had just recovered from pneumonia that started after I had the flu last year*. By the time I had recovered, they were out of flu shots (both kinds). I just started another course of oral steroids (this time for sinusitis issues that have been waxing and waning all fall), so now is not the time, but I will try again to get both flu shots.
*I had a chronic cough all spring since having the flu in February (oral steroids produced temporary improvement) but nothing showed up on chest x-rays, lung auscultation, etc. I eventually spiked a fever and got actually sick in August.
I’m pregnant, and got the vaccine as soon as I was able to (back in October). Working around people who were coming back to work barely recovered from the flu was making me rather nervous.
I don’t normally worry overly about these sorts of thing, despite having had the flu maybe twice in my life, but 1) I have a whole other person to think about at the moment and 2) I work in public health and participate, albeit a little indirectly, in my country’s H1N1 vaccination campaign. I know the risks and I wasn’t willing to take them.
I’m really not sure what the fuss about the vaccine is. Seems like a simple enough precaution for those that could be hit really hard by this strain of flu.
My town just e-mailed an announcement of the first H1N1 clinic they’ve had this year that is by appointment, as opposed to an 8 am cattle call at a time I can’t be there. (And yes, it’s still only for people in the CDC risk groups.) I’ve left a voice mail to make an appointment, but if that doesn’t work, I’ll try and see whether the Walgreens near me has any vaccine left.
I wonder about how serious it is. Why isn’t the government giving the shot away if it’s such a public health threat? Oh yeah the shot is free with a $15 - $30 administrative fee.
Like in Chicago we’ve had free flu shots at colleges, but I’ve gone six times to get it and it’s never there when I go. It’s always:
“We’re out”
“When will you get more.”
“Who knows?”
In Chicago they give it away on community colleges. So if you go first thing at 2pm when it opens, they may not get another supply for weeks, or they may get the next shipment at 4pm and if you’re not there waiting you’re out of luck.
Unless you’re a college student, it’s highly unlikely you’re gonna show up at 2pm and wait till 8pm (when it closes) on the off chance they may get a shipment.
The demand is great enough that if you give a shot, even 1 every five minutes, and charge a nominal $5.00 per, you’d make $60/hr, that’s more than enough to offset the cost of a nurse’s aid to give the shot.
To me it makes no sense for the government to cry about this and do pretty nothing in the way for mass vaccinations.
If it IS truly serious, and it may be, why isn’t Mr Obama putting any effort into getting people vaccinated en masse?
The free clinics in Chicago end on Dec 19th so that in itself says something. Evidently the government feels this “health threat” has tapered off enough so if you don’t want to get the flu, then pay for it.
And I’m not saying people shouldn’t pay for things, but if it’s in society’s interest NOT to have the flu in large amounts, then the government should fork over in the sake of national interest. They do this enough in other areas.
I have not seen any Illinois politician call for free shots, other than say “there is a very weak free program, in Illinois, that always seems to be out of flu shots within 30 minutes of when supplies come in.”
I got the shot today. I was number 6 for the day. A temperature of 0 F this morning probably helped delay the early arrivals. The reception area was filling when my turn came. Anybody could get the shot.
Aaaaand I now have an appointment to get a shot on Saturday morning. With any luck, my town will have organized things well enough so that they have enough vaccine for everyone with scheduled appointments.
I would have been glad to pay to get a shot, but there was simply no vaccine available locally in any kind of reliable way until now. I want a shot, and I’d be happy to pay for it (and so would my insurance company), but I don’t want to spend hours in line on the off chance that there might be some left when I get to the front.
They were giving them at work Monday so I went and got mine. They’ve been hard to impossible to obtain around here. We had an appointment for our kids and that was the only way we could get either flu shot for them.
The poll needs an “Yeah, yeah… I’ll get around to it eventually” option. It’s not that I haven’t been able to get it (the vaccine is available for free all over the place), I just haven’t gotten my lazy ass over to one of the clinics.
My employer offered it to me, but then Sangamon County ran out. We’ve since received another shipment, but our nurse hasn’t returned our calls.
I have nothing against the vaccine. The few times I’ve even thought about getting it, no one had any to give.
I’m not in a risk group and at the moment I’m unemployed so I’m not particularly concerned about getting it.
If I actually find a job, I’ll probably try to get the shot though.
I got the regular flu shot back in October. I asked about the H1N1 shot but was told I didn’t qualify at that time. I asked again in December and got it.
I get a flu shot every year. Because I get my medical advice from doctors and scientists not talk shows and internet message boards.