Janie Investigates Vaccination Abomination

I very rarely wake up on the wrong side of the bed, but today was one of those days. I was Pissed off with a capital P from the moment my eyes opened.

When I have days like this, I ask myself- "Self, what is REALLY pissing you off?"

Today I couldn't pin-point anything in particular, so I ran through my mental checklist of things that sometimes set me off before 8 a.m.:

Blake talking to me
Tyler whining
Dog piss and poop on the bathroom rug
A dirty kitchen
Getting puked, pooped, or snotted on after I have showered and dressed for the day

None of the usual suspects were at the root of today's angst. Hmm. Must be PMS. Glorious.

I turned on the Today Show , like I do every morning, and wouldn't you know it- I found a reason to be in a sour mood!

Wall Street Gets Swine Flu Vaccine
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/33651691#33651691

Janie fans- I know you are probably thinking- stop it already with the Swine Flu rants. But in all seriousness, PLEASE watch this story and tell me it doesn't make your blood boil.

The idea that companies are able to get the Swine Flu Vaccine, but my pediatrician and OBGYN office is not, appalls me.

Both offices tell me that they ordered the vaccine back in late summer, but have not received it and don't know if they even will.

My goal today is to channel my bad mood into something productive and lead the movement for "Swine Flu Vaccine Distribution Reform".

To do this, I first needed to understand why hospitals, doctors offices, and pharmacies aren't getting the vaccine.

The next step- find out who is responsible for that decision and rip them a new a-hole.

Finally, encourage everyone I know to be outraged about this as well and provide direction for mass complaints.

So here's the scoop.

I started with calling the Centers for Disease Control. This was a cluster. I was transferred to different operators like three times and hung up on once. I finally got in touch with a semi-informed person (laugh) and she told me, "The world’s five leading flu vaccine manufacturers are struggling to make enough supply to keep up with the global Swine Flu pandemic."

Thanks for the verbatim biotch. I get that part.

After approximately two hours on the phone with various levels of government agencies- national, state, county- I am still not clear on how the vaccine is distributed because I keep getting different answers.

It seems like the state blames the distribution cluster F*%$ on the CDC, the CDC blames it on the county, the county blames it on the state. Etc, etc.

A representative at the Ohio Health Department told me that the CDC is responsible for distributing vaccines to each state based upon its population (also known as project areas). To see how many vaccines your state will receive, go to this link- http://www.flu.gov/individualfamily/vaccination/supply.html

According to my source, the state then distributes the available supply to each county based upon that county's population. The county is then responsible for distributing the vaccination to the community. From what I gather, most counties have done that by holding public clinics for high-risk patients only.

According to the Ohio Health Department representative, (found it interesting that she wouldn't give me her name) physician offices can order and receive Swine Flu Vaccinations, but the office must be inspected by the county for proper storage facilities before receiving their shipment.

The Ohio Health Department representative also told me that in Butler County, where I live; there are only 6 officials to inspect the hundreds of doctors offices awaiting vaccines.

I called my pediatricians office to ask if the practice was aware of the inspection protocol. The practice manager that I talked to told me that she'd ask the doctor in charge of getting the vaccine and get back to me.

Regardless of wheter or not my doctors office have been inspected yet, I find it insulting that the state would feel the need to do this. This office, and others like it, have demonstrated highly competent care and the ability to store and distribute regular flu shots without error.

Many comments and questions come to mind, but most importantly- Why all the extra red tape if the Swine Flu is such a high risk for certain populations?

I randomly chose five pediatrician and five OBGYN practices in my area- other than mine- and none of them have received Swine Flu Vaccinations. Clearly this isn't an issue of an office dropping the ball on getting the storage inspection.

I've been told that the person I need to question is, Tricia Anglin, the Nursing Director for the Butler County Health Department.

So far I haven't been able to reach Ms. Anglin. I did get her voicemail and thought it was interesting- and a little infuriating- that after the formalities she says, "...If you are a provider and are calling about when you will receive your shipment of the H1NI vaccination, I do not have that information, nor will I."

Wow. There is only one word for that statement. Ok, maybe two words- F' ing Wow.

This topic has been covered on the local level all the way up to network giants like The View. Clearly it is a widespread problem and needs to be addressed. If you are as outraged as I am about the way the government has decided to supply the Swine Flu Vaccine, I encourage you to take action and call your county health department. Demand answers and accountability.

If you live in Butler County, feel free to call Tricia Anglin- 513.863.1770. The buck may or may not stop here, but it's a place to start. If I were a betting person, I'd guess that she will deny accountability and send me complaining to someone else.

My kids are due for their swine flu boosters in two weeks. My pregnant sister-in-law has still not received the vaccine. Chances are we will wait again in a long, public clinic line to get the shot. Meanwhile, my pediatrician office and my sister-in-law's OBGYN office will be calling Ms. Anglin only to hear that she has no information for them, nor will she.