Hi. Our pediatrician was out of the flu vaccine during the month of September. Today I called the office and they said they only had vaccine for children 3 or older because their full shipment has been delayed. They said they don't think they will have more vaccine before the end of October.
My girls are 20 months old. I do want to get the flu and the H1N1 vaccine for them and for myself.
Has anyone else run into this problem? Any solutions or places where I can take toddlers to get the vaccines? I live in the Oakland Hills and am looking for a solution in the East Bay but am interested in any ideas in the SF Bay Area.
Thanks!
P.S. I do respect that some folks don't believe in the vaccines but would appreciate receiving posts with possible options and not ones outlining reasons to be against these vaccines. Thanks in advance!
hey L., i live in moraga and my pediatrician has them. he is in orinda and his name is dr. lewis. he is awesome,as is his office. another is night owl pediatrics, takes all kinds of insurance, they are in pleasant hill and open weekends and between the hours of 5-8ish pm. you don't have to switch doctors to go there or anything. good luck.
Greetings L., I am very glad that you have set boundries on the topic of vaccinations.
i have a sone with Aspberger's Syndrome and positively know it is not from the vaccinations that helped keep him healthy and safe from things he might be exposed to. That said;
My son and I recieved our shots weeks ago from our asthma clinic. I have been told that some stores like Walgreens are giving it as well. Go talk with a someone at a pharmacy. They might know of places near your home.
I wonder if your pedi doc. works with someone else that has the medication and will let yo get it at that office. Good Luck, and I hope that you will enjoy the adventure of parenthood. It will have more twists and turns than a theme park ride-- but more rewards than anything else that you can do in this world. Nana Glenda
A lot of times, drug stores will offer flu shots. Do a google search for your neighborhood & see who's offering them.
Check with your public health department. They have immunization clinics throughout the county. Just google or yahoo Alameda Public Health and you will find a wealth of information.
L.,
Hang in there! Even for pediatricians, it's a mind boggling challenge to pre-book vaccine 6-9 months in advance, "guess" how many doses to order, order some of each kind made AND THEN...wait and see what and how much the manufacturers are willing to ship you.
Your pediatrician ordered plenty of vaccine, I suspect, but is expected to be happy with whatever they are shipped in whatever amounts arrive.
Your pearl in my reply is this...THOSE DOSES FOR CHILDREN 3 AND OLDER COULD WORK FOR YOUR CHILD. A child under 3 receives 0.25cc of vaccine. Call and ask if you could have that dose from the multidose vials that your doctor has on hand. Multidose vials contain TRACE amounts of thimerosol but thimerosol does not cause autism, as many have insisted.
Lastly, write to SANOFI (one of the largest manufacturers of flu vaccine) and tell them that the way they ship vaccine is unacceptable. Call for more transparancy in who they ship and sell vaccine to. Only then will the "supply problems" end.
Dr. S.
PS. This season, production of H1N1 vaccine did complicate the whole thing, but the "running out" issue is not new and needs addressing today.
Hi,
We've run into the same thing. We had an appt to get flu shots on Friday and received a call that they were all out until Nov. I heard on the news the shortage is related to companies stopping the manufacturing of the seasonal flu vaccine to make the H1N1. Most of the stores -target, costco, walgreens, etc will only administer shots to kids 9 and older. I'll try to keep checking your question, but if you get a good lead, can you let me know.
Thanks!
