In October I took ds to the pediatrician for his 1 year shots and overheard 2 moms being told they couldnt get flu shots for their kids yet because they were on the state health plan and the state hadn't bought flu shots yet. I thought that bit, but I know in early october shots are often in low supply. Meanwhile my son got a flu shot that day. And I noticed that safeway, costco, etc all had plenty, but they wont do kids under 16

Since it is his first flu shot they have them do 2 shots the first year. So we went back today to get his 2nd flu shot.

State health plan participants still cant get flu shots for their kids.

The local healthcare plan (hospital system plan for people who dont quite qualify for state ) falls under the state plan for flu shots, so they cant get shots either.

Today a woman who was told her daughter couldnt get a shot through the state health plan asked about just paying cash for one as her daughter was high risk. Self-pay shot ALSO have to be provided by the state. So there is no way a poor person in oregon can get a shot for their children EVEN FOR CASH.

Can't they go to one of the stores you mentioned?

I don't get them, so I don't notice the rules. They never worked for me and I was sick constantly when I was forced to take them.

So, the stores won't do them if the kid is under 16. I would think that a parent willing to give permission would override that. There has to be somewhere people can go to get a shot for their kids and pay cash.

Perhaps this woman needs to contact her local newspaper, radio and/or tv station. Getting bad publicity might just be the thing that is needed to get some of the state agencies to step up to the plate.

CBmare, I agree 100% I would be calling someone about this. What a shame that even if you pay good ol' american cash you cant get your kid a shot. SHAME SHAME!!!

I don't belive in getting flu shots or the psycic abilities of the people that decide which virus they will add to the yearly toxic coctail, so needless to say I believe the kids being denied the flu shot in your community are the blessed ones.

Flus can and do still kill people. Usually those with already weakened or immature immune systems. I don't think people should assume that everyone needs a flu shot, but for those who are at the greatest risk, the benefits and risks need to be assessed, and acted upon accordingly.

It isn't intuition, gesswork, or "psychic ability" that goes into creating flu vaccines. The CDC and similar agencies in other countries monitor flu and other virus outbreaks world-wide, and the "migration pattern" of virus transmission is actually more predictable than the average person would ever guess. In some cases, when a virus appears in one country, the experts know where it will pop up next, and how it will get there (airplane, boat, train, bus, foot travel), and in some cases, which and how many mutations are most likely to occur.

Regardless of opinion on whether the flu shot is healthy, I am always saddened to see the number of choices that are taken away from people because they are unable to be privately insured. Getting a flu shot or not getting a flu shot is a personal choice for us all to make, or for the parents among us, to make for our children. Denying that choice based on socioeconomic status, when it is at all avoidable, always bothers me so deeply.

The issue here isn't flu shot safety, but the denying of choices to lower income groups without private insurance. It would be the same if flu shots were MANDATORY for people who aren't privately insured - unfair because it removes the choice each individual has about whether or not to be vaccinated.

Exactly.

Personally I have mixed feelings about the shot, but I also think all risks have to be weighed. I didnt give my dd flu shots as a baby, but my son has compromised lung function. He is at greater risk from dying from the flu...or even a bad cold than the average child his age. A simple cold last year landed him in PICU. So now we all get one to protect him. But I get to make that choice. The woman in the clinic with me didnt because she was poor. Her child actually has a more severe lung condition than my sons plus asthma...but no shot for her. Just a trip to the ER to check her blood O2 when she starts wheezing.

One of the interesting things with this is that it's not just poverty that creates an issue (although that's certainly true here). I was underinsured for several years because I could not get health insurance through my employer. I paid close to $300/month- not before taxes- for insurance premiums on an individual health policy that had a $2,500 deductible and a 30/70 coinsurance (I would still pay 30% of the bill after I had met the $2,500 deductible) and had pre-existing conditions excluded. I had to be bleeding out my eyes before I would throw my financial security in a loop to drag myself to the doctor. I didn't have children but how tragic to think of the families who don't qualify for state aid and do their best to have insurance, just to be unable to afford basic services?

cindyoakes, my boss's daughter's brother-in-law felt kind of blah one day working in his office and made an appointment to see the doctor the next day. He never made it to the appointment, they found him dead at his desk of a heart attack. He was only 28. The autopsy showed heart damage from the flu virus. Please PLEASE, unless you or someone in your family actually has had a bad reaction to a flu shot and your doctor tells you it isn't advisable on those grounds, GET THAT SHOT, and be sure your loved ones do the same.