As of December 16, Connecticut changed their guidance to this:
My wife and I actually got our H1N1 flu shots a week ago today from our doctor’s office. At the time, I remember thinking that they were jumping the gun by giving it to us (not being high-risk), but they must have determined that they had received enough vaccine to inoculate everyone in their practice. I also rationalized that I was contributing to herd immunity. In any event, I wasn’t going to argue with them when they offered us the vaccine.
I got the H1N1 flu shot yesterday – I finally was a in a category that allowed me to get it at my medical clinic: I’m the father of a ten-day old baby.
I got the H1N1, the seasonal, and the pneumonia shot all back in November. I’m high risk because of health issues, and because I’m a teacher. My lung doctor refers to schools as ‘sewers’ because of the germ sharing.
My partner got the H1N1 flu back in september or october, I didn’t get sick from it though.
He recently received a voucher to get a shot for it. Not me. He don’t plan to get a shot either.
Got it ages ago (October). H1N1 in left arm, seasonal 'flu in right. H1N1 hurt more, but no other side effects.
I’m a doctor with a baby under 6 months who is going back to work in Paediatrics in February…no way in hell was I turning the opportunity to get vaccinated down and put the health of myself, my baby and other peoples’ kids at risk.
I got vaccinated throgh work- they sent an email saying “we’re offering vaccines to all front-line staff on these dates- come with your work ID or a recent paycheck and photo ID”. As it turned out I’d worked with the nurse who vaccinated me, so that wasn’t even necessary.
One thing the NHS has actually done well is getting priority groups covered.
Yup, for all that people slate them, they have been pretty organised in rolling out the vaccine to priority groups. It’s a shame not more people are taking up the offer to get the vaccine. Last I heard, the uptake amongst pregnant women was pretty poor, although this doesn’t surprise me.
I got the shot to do my thing for herd immunity. I’m in good health, and would likely have no problem surviving the flu. By getting the shot I reduce the likelihood of catching the flu and passing it on to someone who’s not as healthy.
Markxxx, you’re off base here. The federal government purchased all the shots in advance to fund the development of the vaccine and gave them away.
“How will the 2009 H1N1 vaccine be financed?
In general, the 2009 H1N1 vaccine will be financed similarly to seasonal influenza vaccine, with two important exceptions. First, the federal government has purchased the vaccine and related supplies so providers should not be seeking reimbursement for these. Second, states are receiving funding from CDC to coordinate vaccination efforts. Vaccine administration can be billed to public and private insurance in much of the same way that they currently are billed for the seasonal influenza vaccine. In no case will commercial community vaccinators be permitted to receive both federal monies provided to public health departments and bill insurance for vaccine administration for the same patient. Details are below, but in summary, the 2009 H1N1 vaccine will be financed similarly to the seasonal influenza vaccine.”
The federal government did not go that extra mile to actually pay the $10-15 administration cost for every American. Many if not most people with insurance already have coverage for vaccinations, and many employers also provide vaccines at no charge for their employees. The truly destitute have Medicaid or other public health options. Additional funding for the H1N1 shot would have been, to a large extent, a handout to insurance companies and employers.