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

[DizBelle]

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.]

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

I agree.

 

[DizBelle]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[npmommie]

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.

they do immunize the staff here ( at least when I worked in the system ) before or at the same time as the inmates.

 

[kilee]

Sorry, this still infuriates me. I work in a high volume health clinic and we have been unable to get 1 single H1N1 SHOT immunization. We are seeing 20-30 flu cases a day.

Well, guess who got hit w/ a ton of bricks and started w/ a fever on Friday night??? Yep me........I started on Tamiflu yesterday morning...and I'm actually feeling like I'm on the mend this evening.

However, that is after a doctors visit Friday morning because I felt "off" and tight in my chest. A breathing treatment and a shot of Kenalog. Then walking out w/ 4 scripts in hand. Then having my dh go to the pharmacy yesterday morning to get my Tamiflu, then a trip to the ER overnight because my asthma felt like it was flaring up (which it wasn't), and getting another script.

I get to take a loss of time from work and pay for all of these expenses on my high deductible health plan. All the while now watching my husband lay on the couch and shiver w/ a fever. Now hoping my almost 16 yr old son does not catch it (as he was immunized w/ the mist on Friday and cannot take Tamiflu if he does catch it)-- and hoping we all come through this w/o complications.

Honestly, I am livid that prisoners would get the immunization first. I go to work everyday to "help people". Yet our government and state could not get their act together enough to give me the tools to keep doing my job and not put me and my family at risk. I get the close quarters and the spreading like wild fire. Well, I'm sorry......in my opinion they still should of been further down the pecking order.

 

[yoopermom]

I thought that I heard on NPR that one of the really ironic aspects of this is that they cannot make it "mandatory" for all prisoners to get this shot, only voluntary, so many prisoners will still end up getting sick since they've chosen not to get the shot! The speaker was pointing out that unless they made it mandatory, it was basically useless at stopping the spread of the disease within the population...

And, yes, I'm ticked at them getting it before my pregnant cousin who's a teacher (none available in her area, even though she's top of the list...).

Terri

 

[Tink9721]

It's kind of ridiculous how long it's taking to get the vaccine for some people. H1N1 hit my school recently and a lot of kids have it now, and when do we get the vaccine? MID DECEMBER! I know teens aren't the first priority for the vaccine but everyone in the school will have had it by the time we get vaccinated

 

[livie1205]

This is awful! I feel bad for the people that want it and can not get it....we have had the h1n1 vaccine here for over a month and we still have plenty(they have clinics 3 times a week) they have got more each week here.I am taking my dd3 for her 2nd dose in about a hour.I am in florida and most of the counties have some vaccine.