Wow - guess who will get the H1N1 vaccine before I can?

[lfontaine]

PRISONERS!

Yep, that's right. Prisoners will be getting the H1N1 vaccine before it is available to the general public.

Am I missing something? Does this seem right to anyone?

I would think that the fact that I haven't murdered anyone might give me the advantage of getting the vaccine before someone who has. I guess not.

[golfgal]

I see your point but in this case I would rather pay for a shot than the medical bills...

[RitaZ.]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I see your point but in this case I would rather pay for a shot than the medical bills...

I agree.

[lfontaine]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I see your point but in this case I would rather pay for a shot than the medical bills...

I get that. I get that this is the reason.

BUT, isn't a prison kind of a built-in quarantine? If they keep the swine flu out, then none of the prisoners will get it. If they put in a few measures to ensure that swine flu doesn't enter the prison, then what is the risk that the prisoners will get it?

If I get swine flu, I won't only have to pay my medical bills but also deal with the costs of having to deal with swine flu (lost work time, etc). This seems like a higher cost than a prisoner dealing with swine flu.

[clh2]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I see your point but in this case I would rather pay for a shot than the medical bills...

I can understand the frustration of the OP - but the getting the prisoners vaccinated will save tons compared to if they all get sick and some need to be hospitalized.

There are many people who go in/out of prisons. The guards...the lawyers...the new prisoners...etc.

[C.Ann]

My guess would be since it's such a large population confined in a small area.. Also, not all people in jail are murderers, so that's a bit of a jaded view..

I know how frustrated you are.. Myself, my adult DD, and my DGD still have not been able to get it (we require the shots rather than the mist), but your anger should be directed at the government and how they have decided to dole it out rather than people who are in jail for anything from very minor crimes all the way up to major crimes.. (And yes - there are also innocent people in jail - sometimes just awaiting a trial that will prove their innocence..)

I'll agree it's frustrating though to be told there is a "National Health Emergency" and not be able to deal with it in the manner that you have chosen..

[AKL_Megs]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I see your point but in this case I would rather pay for a shot than the medical bills...

I agree.

And, there are more people than prisoners in prison... there are guards, other staff - all people who have family and friends and people they could get sick at home.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by lfontaine

I get that. I get that this is the reason.

BUT, isn't a prison kind of a built-in quarantine? If they keep the swine flu out, then none of the prisoners will get it. If they put in a few measures to ensure that swine flu doesn't enter the prison, then what is the risk that the prisoners will get it?

If I get swine flu, I won't only have to pay my medical bills but also deal with the costs of having to deal with swine flu (lost work time, etc). This seems like a higher cost than a prisoner dealing with swine flu.

In a perfect world yes, but the problem is that you are contagious before you have symptoms so this would be impossible. Given the living situation in a prison the flu would spread pretty rapidly once it is there.

I think prisoners have it WAY too easy-they should be work houses not luxury living situations, but in this situation it is more about cost control to me.

[Binnie]

Gotta say, I'm with the OP on this one.

DD is in private Pre-K, so according to our state, she's not as high a priority as other children (even though she has a chronic health condition) who are already receiving their vaccinations, so we have to wait for her to be vaccinated.

Meanwhile prisoners at Gitmo get the vaccine.

Maybe I'm an awful person, but I'd much prefer to see my kid (or anybody else) get vaccinated over a prisoner. They should be at the bottom of the totem pole, not the top. (And Gitmo's medical costs are fixed, so that argument goes out the window) Prison staff, sure, but not the prisoners. Let 'em get sick.

[AKL_Megs]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I think prisoners have it WAY too easy-they should be work houses not luxury living situations...

I'll take H1N1 and my hectic yet well lived life over being stuck in prison rotting away with all of those criminals and creeps ANY day. And have you ever SEEN a prison? I wouldn't exactly call it "luxury living"...

[honugirl]

This really ticks me off. Fine, vaccinate the prison guards, close the prisons to visitors, and vaccinate the high risk prisoners. As for everyone else in jail, I could give a rats patootie if they get the flu. Most are probably somewhat healthy, can possibly fight off the virus, have people taking care of them, and probably won't end up in the hospital. They also can cancel yard time, serve meals in the cells and go on lockdown to attempt to halt the spread. I'm extremely high risk and I can't get the vaccine because I'm somewhere down the line behind the pregnant women, kids and prisoners. Fantastic. Hey, at least I've already met my deductible for this year if I end up in the hospital...

[KristaTX]

What state are you in? I wonder if this is going on in every state. There was front-page article in the Fort Worth paper about this last week. The very next day there was another big article saying that the powers-that-be had changed their minds because of public outcry.

[Ember]

Originally Posted by honugirl

This really ticks me off. Fine, vaccinate the prison guards, close the prisons to visitors, and vaccinate the high risk prisoners. As for everyone else in jail, I could give a rats patootie if they get the flu. Most are probably somewhat healthy, can possibly fight off the virus, have people taking care of them, and probably won't end up in the hospital. They also can cancel yard time, serve meals in the cells and go on lockdown to attempt to halt the spread.

I have to say, I agree.

[npmommie]

Originally Posted by lfontaine

I get that. I get that this is the reason.

BUT, isn't a prison kind of a built-in quarantine? If they keep the swine flu out, then none of the prisoners will get it. If they put in a few measures to ensure that swine flu doesn't enter the prison, then what is the risk that the prisoners will get it?

If I get swine flu, I won't only have to pay my medical bills but also deal with the costs of having to deal with swine flu (lost work time, etc). This seems like a higher cost than a prisoner dealing with swine flu.

how can they keep it out? there are hundreds of people that go in and out of these prisons every day..........correction officer, nurses, lawyers, priests, social workers, teachers, secretaries, I could go on and on.
and these workers have families, spouses, children, so in a situation like this it is better to try to prevent for everyone's sake, not just the prisoners. if the prisoners get it and it spreads like wildfire thru the prison, then you have the staff at risk, then they have the cost of swine flu to deal with, lost work time etc etc.........

I used to work as an RN per diem in a state prison. it is not luxury living.

[kilee]

I have to agree immunize the staff not the prisoners first. Same thing w/ the way different states are handling it in general. In some states they are immunizing everyone and anyone while other states cannot get vaccine to high population areas to get the high risk pool.