Vaccines and Priorities

We’ve been dithering about flu vaccines, and had never fully made up our minds until I took the girls for check-ups, and the doctor said they still had some doses of seasonal flu vaccine reserved specifically for children. The doctor and I talked it over, and I decided to go ahead and have the girls vaccinated. And I’ve signed up to get a seasonal flu shot next week, through my employer.

We don’t normally get flu shots, but since we’ve basically got twice as much chance of getting a flu this year, between the regular flu and H1N1, I thought it might be prudent to try to avoid catching at least one of them.  I still don’t know if we’ll get H1N1 vaccines. If it continues to be something you have to wait hours in line for, we probably won’t.  Also, we had a flu-like illness in August, so it’s possible we’ve already had the H1N1 virus. And we’re still determined not to succumb to panic. If the H1N1 vaccine is available, and we really feel we need it, we’ll get it. But we don’t want to do it just because the government and news media are determined to spread panic about it.

Speaking of the government, what exactly are the government’s priorities in this pandemic? The public health? Children, pregnant women and the elderly? Or is the main priority actually keeping the economy going?

The reports today of Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America being given doses of H1N1 vaccine for their company clinics raised a lot of hackles. People asked why these firms would receive this scarce vaccine when many children and other high risk groups can’t even get it yet.

I reacted this way at first, too, wondering whether the government were protecting Wall Street to keep the economy from collapsing; a case of seriously misplaced priorities.

It wouldn’t surprise me if that happened, but it doesn’t look like that’s the case here.  According to the AP report on this situation, vaccine is distributed to state health departments, who then decide where to distribute it. Occupational, company-sponsored clinics are a common choice. However, those clinics are still only allowed to give the vaccines to high-risk groups at this time.  Wall Street companies do employ pregnant women, people with babies at home, people with high-risk health conditions, etc.

So I can’t give you the rant I was planning earlier today, because I did a little research, thought about it a little more, and realized I’d be wrong.   Hey, I know of a few people in cable news who would benefit from that approach…

Public domain photo of the H1N1 flu virus taken in the CDC Influenza Laboratory