Best place to get H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccination?

September 16, 2009 2:12 PM

Best place to get H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccination?

Wife is pregnant with our first, and is due in December. OB strongly recommended I get vaccinated with both (Flu and H1N1), even though I am very healthy and have a very strong immune system. I am at risk because 1) I will be living with a newborn soon 2) I am under 25.

I do not have a PCP, so unsure of where I can find both.

Bonus: Anyone know the approximate cost of H1N1 when it is available? Rumor has it mid-October is the availability.

posted by NotSoSimple to health & fitness (11 comments total)

Where are you? Kind of difficult without a location, but off the top of my head, here are some us places:

Walgreens
Target
CVS Pharmacies
WalMart
Planned Parenthood
Any clinic
Any hospital
Any University Student Health Center

Any place a google of "Location + flu vaccine"
posted by Think_Long at 2:17 PM on September 16 [1 favorite]

Check out the CDC's page on H1N1. CDC says it'll be available some time this fall: "The 2009 H1N1 vaccine is expected to be available in the fall. More specific dates cannot be provided at this time as vaccine availability depends on several factors including manufacturing time and time needed to conduct clinical trials." And CDC list of places to get the vaccine.

Supposedly it will be free, or just an admin cost.
posted by semacd at 2:22 PM on September 16

Minnesota is telling people "The vaccine is expected to be available in limited supply in late September. Larger supplies are expected in late October or November." as well as a standard "More specific dates cannot be provided at this time" disclaimer.

MN Dept of Health links

For what it's worth, I seem to remember flu shots at the grocery store running about $15 last year, but that's only a dim memory. I don't think they're wildly expensive. (I get flu shots as a side-benefit of employment, so I don't have to pay. Yay work!)
posted by gimonca at 2:23 PM on September 16

I am in Portland, OR.
posted by NotSoSimple at 2:27 PM on September 16

semacd: that cost is specific to your state and that specific insurance coverage. We really can't provide an estimated cost to NotSoSimple because it will depend entirely on the OP's insurance coverage and programs within the state of Oregon (e.g., perhaps your state WILL have an option to obtain it for free, or there may be a sliding scale option within your state that can assist with this). There is not one set fee that is for anyone and everyone within the country.
posted by Eicats at 2:40 PM on September 16

Here is the Multnomah County Health Department Website on H1N1. When the vaccination becomes available (first week of October is the new rumor) they will be posting the names of specific location where it will be available. In the meantime try talking to your wife's OBGYN- they will know where she can get the vaccination earliest (they may even have it). The vaccination is not free but will be provided regardless of your ability to pay (this is more likely to be a state run clinics rather than at a drug store) - flu shots are usually $30. Also the seasonal flu shot is available and since you'll have an infant in the house you should get that one as well.

Also, today's Oregonian Living section had a whole article on H1N1 with lots of local information.
posted by rosebengal at 3:02 PM on September 16

Sorry - didn't see that you intend to get both seasonal and H1N1... And I meant that her OB might know of locations where YOU could get it as well...Myself pregnant and clearly tired. Good luck.
posted by rosebengal at 3:05 PM on September 16

Luckily, I just attended a meeting with the director of the Illinois dept. of public health a few days ago that detailed how Illinois was handling this very issue.

H1N1 will be the largest mass vaccination ever managed by the federal government. The vaccine will be distributed directly to state health departments, which will decide how best to distribute it to priority groups (you, of course, are in two priority groups, as is your wife).

Contact your local health department, as they will be able to tell you more about their distribution methods. Here in Illinois, the vaccine is being delivered to health providers that pre-register with the state to serve as distribution sites, as well as through public health clinics, etc.

If all goes well with the current clinical trials, you should only have to receive one H1N1 vaccine instead of the previously estimated two.
posted by nayrb5 at 4:24 PM on September 16

Seasonal Flu Shot Locator. I have already received the shot.

http://www.flucliniclocator.org/
posted by JayRwv at 5:14 PM on September 16

h1n1 flu shot locator.

http://www.findaflushot.com/
posted by JayRwv at 5:16 PM on September 16

You can and should get seasonal influenza vaccine right now. It will probably be recommended that you let 3-4 weeks elapse between getting the seasonal and H1N1 vaccines, and you don't want to have to wait around once H1N1 vaccine becomes available, so get seasonal vaccine ASAP.

There is no shortage of seasonal influenza vaccine; you can get it at many Walgreens and similar locations. The state of Oregon has a phone number you can call on this page. Usually this costs about $25 for injected vaccine or about $40 for the mist formulation, but prices vary widely. If you have insurance, this may be covered, depending on where you get it.

H1N1 vaccine, as indicated above, seems like it will start to be available at the end of this month, but it will get shipped a little at a time and you might not be able to get it immediately. The page I linked to above has a link to a directory of local health departments; yours ought to be able to give you an idea of where you'll be able to get it.

All H1N1 vaccine is being procured by the federal government and distributed free to the states on a population basis. However, you will probably have to pay an administration fee to cover the provider's costs for labor and supplies. I would expect this to be less than what seasonal influenza costs, but that is just my supposition. Again here, insurance may cover the admin fee.

Good luck!
posted by lakeroon at 8:34 PM on September 16