Bob is 8 and Edgar is 3.5. In the US, the priority groups are a little different. The first is pregnant women, followed by household contacts of infants under 6 months, then healthcare and emergency medical workers, then 6 months to 24 year olds, and then 25-64 year olds with health conditions associated with higher risk of complications from flu. So the kids are in group four, and we're sort of in group five. But when the first H1N1 clinics by the County were done, they weren't checking, so my 74 year old aunt got it, and my cousin's wife, who isn't in any of the groups. My cousin got it, but he has a heart condition, so he's in the last group, and their son got it, and he's four, so he's in group four.
The waitlist at my girls' peds office is over 700 people, or at least it was three weeks ago. I imagine it's longer now, since they haven't gotten any vax in and three weeks have passed.
Supposedly, the reason it's so hard to come by is that the manufacturers are having a hard time growing the virus in sufficient quantities. They grow flu virus in chicken eggs, but this one doesn't grow well in chicken eggs.
Oh, and I talked to the peds office this morning and they don't have any and don't know when they're getting it. They do finally have the seasonal flu shot, but I wanted to get the H1N1 first, since there's some indication that having had the seasonal flu shot makes people somewhat more likely to contract H1N1. I'm most concerned about Edgar, with her history of respiratory issues.
The concern about seasonal flu vaccine predisposing to H1N1 was based on Canadian data that was a) never made public (or at least not last time I checked) and b) not in line with any other country's data. I don't know how their conclusion was reached, but if they looked retrospectively, then it makes sense that those who have had seasonal flu shots last year (ie: those who tend to be at high risk of flu illness and therefore got vaccinated) are the same people who would be at risk of H1N1. Just saying, so that if you want to get the seasonal flu shot out of the way while it's still available, you could. Only caveat is getting the live (intranasal) seasonal flu vaccine if you want to get the live h1n1 too - they have to be separated by a few weeks (sounds like your kids probably couldn't get those given respiratory issues anyhow). Oh - and the US has a lower supply partly because they chose not to use vaccines with adjuvants, unlike Canada.
The waitlist at my girls' peds office is over 700 people, or at least it was three weeks ago. I imagine it's longer now, since they haven't gotten any vax in and three weeks have passed.
Supposedly, the reason it's so hard to come by is that the manufacturers are having a hard time growing the virus in sufficient quantities. They grow flu virus in chicken eggs, but this one doesn't grow well in chicken eggs.
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Oh - and the US has a lower supply partly because they chose not to use vaccines with adjuvants, unlike Canada.
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