Health

H1N1 Vaccine Locations: Be Careful of Scams

by Jordan Yerman | October 19, 2009 at 02:08 pm

443 views | 24 Recommendations | 2 comments

H1N1 vaccine locations are proving difficult to find. While the H1N1 vaccine is FDA-approved, there is no clear and easy path for someone to find exactly where to go in their area for an H1N1 vaccine. The CDC itself has no H1N1 vaccine locations list that I can find, which is rather frustrating. I can tell you how many vaccines each state is receiving (sorry, Marshall Islands), but not where you would take your family to get those vaccines. Your local health department will be more useful than the CDC site in this case.

What kind of providers can be designated as vaccine recipients?
Providers that have the capability to receive, store and administer vaccine, including but not limited to provider offices, occupational health clinics, hospitals, local health departments, community vaccinators and pharmacies

... But that's all we get. Not terribly useful if you need to know which hospital to visit.

The CDC is recommending that only certain types of people get vaccinated at first, as follows:

These target groups include pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, healthcare and emergency medical services personnel, persons between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old, and people ages of 25 through 64 years of age who are at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.

Two million doses of the H1N1 vaccine are on their way to Canada, though the H1N1 vacine s still awaiting final federal approval before it can be released to the public.

The vaccine is undergoing regulatory approval before the federal government gives the green light to start the H1N1 flu shots.

"As the vaccine rolls off the production line, it is being shipped to locations across the country," Aglukkaq said Monday.

With such decentralized (I daresay mismanaged) dissemination of information, it's no wonder that opportunists are stepping up with scams:

"There are a number of websites and fake pharmacies and different marketers of products that claim to either prevent the H1N1 flu or cure the H1N1 flu," says Janet Hart of the Better Business Bureau.

Note that the H1N1 vaccine is not a replacement for the standard Flu vaccine, and is meant as a supplement.

Also see: H1N1 Vaccine Shunned Despite Availability

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Tomitheos Linardos

at 12:48 on October 26th, 2009

Toronto launched a mass vaccination project today consisting of 10 location across the GTA, thank you for all the information here Jordan

janetrerecich (not verified)

at 23:47 on October 29th, 2009

Do we know if the vaccines being shipped to Canada are free of thimerosal or not? I've heard there are both available. I want to ask for one that is free of thimerosal but can't find any information on what to ask for, look for ie. what is the name of the vaccine and who is it produced by.