Flu shots are there, if you can reach them
Nearly all of the patients visiting my family medicine clinic on a recent morning had medical problems making them priority candidates for the flu shot. We had none to give them. All we could do was ask them to call back next week in the hope that some had come in. For several of them, the opportunity will be lost because getting out of the house to come to our office is challenging due to wheelchair use, etc.
Meanwhile, the vaccine is available at pharmacies and Wal-Marts. Increasingly, our governments are practicing social Darwinism where those deemed fit to survive must be able to make it to the marketplace. Public health priorities are being determined by people's status as consumers. Is this how we want America to be?
Wayne Hale
Greensboro
The writer is a family practicing physician, teaching residency, Moses Cone Hospital.
Comments (3)
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I am by no means an expert in this field,but does government manufacture and distribute flu vaccines or is this another attempt to blame the government for the 'mistreatment' of the poor and downtroden?
Posted on November 4, 2005 7:14 AM
neocon,
I'm not very informed, either. One thing I know, though, is that vaccines are not manufactured by the government. This is a WHO list of vaccine manufacturers around the world:
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/manulist/en/
Can someone speak to how the vaccines are distributed?
Posted on November 4, 2005 8:58 AM
Blue Cross and Blur Sheild were offering free flu shots to their customers at clinics. Now this benfits the insurance company because that flu shot just cost them a lot less then it would if that customer had gotten at the doctors office. By the insurance companies buying up these vaccines and giving them away at clinics they save themselves the expense of what the doctors office wouild charge for the office visit.
Posted on November 4, 2005 9:55 AM