State/Walgreen’s Feud Delaying H1N1 Shots?
8-Ball sez: Signs point to ‘Yes’.
First, in the spirit of full disclosure allow me to stipulate that I’ve ‘got a dog in this fight’ as I’m close to someone who works for Walgreen’s. Although said someone worked for Happy Harry’s for 20 years and greatly admires Alan Levin as well.
Now, follow me on this. The single largest source of immunizers in Delaware (aka the people who give the shots) is/are the pharmacists at Walgreen’s. Why? Because the corporation that Alan Levin and the Markell folks love to hate (and with at least some good reason) had the bright idea to get the preponderance of their Delaware pharmacists (at least 150 or so) trained and certified as such. Walgreen’s pharmacists provided the majority of flu shots (the normal one) to adults in Delaware this year. Love ’em or hate ’em, that proved to be a damned smart business decision.
Now we’ve got the H1N1 vaccine, and, while there is a shortage in Delaware, there are many schools that have yet to immunize any kids, including the school my daughter goes to. And while the ‘first wave’ of the H1N1 virus has ebbed somewhat, immunologists predict that there are likely two more waves to come. The State, as near as can be figured out, is trying to use pediatricians’ offices and school nurses as the chief immunizers, and with limited success due to the limited amount of immunizers. There appear to be sufficient quantities of vaccine available to immunize a helluva lot more at-risk kids (if not all) than are currently immunized, shortages and all. What’s lacking are the people to deliver the shots.
So why isn’t the State using the largest source of immunizers to, you know, immunize? Pharmacists already take their ‘show on the road’ and are ready, willing and able to do the same for schools. They are already trained to administer the shots to those aged 9 and over. That would address most of the kids and teens in the key ‘at-risk’ group.
One act from the Governor would make this possible. President Obama has already declared an H1N1 emergency, enabling certain steps to be taken to battle the epidemic, and granting to state governments the power to do likewise.
If Governor Jack Markell does the same, it will enable pharmacists who are fully trained and certified to administer the vaccine to those aged 9 and older to do so. As of now, State law limits them to administering shots to those aged 18 and older.
I find it hard to believe that the State will allow hubris to stand in the way of doing the right thing.
Tags: Alan Levin, Gov. Markell, H1N1, Walgreen's
There is alot being claimed here that isn’t readily apparent — including that the Walgreens feud is somehow responsible for why pharmacies do not have the H1N1 vaccine.
There is a doc online (pdf) that goes into some detail on how the vaccine will be available in Delaware. It is pretty clear that no pharmacies will have the H1N1 until possibly December. But if you read the whole thing, they seem to be relying on those places where kids are most likely to be present to get the vaccine first. Maybe that is a bad decision, but I can’t quite suss out the conspiracy here.
The issue isn’t really why the pharmacies don’t have the vaccine. The issue is that there appears to be more vaccine than there are currently immunizers to administer the shots. Why not send a qualified group of immunizers out onsite to administer the shots?
How do you know that there is more vaccine than can be distributed by the currently sanctioned points? Your own post points to the current shortage of vaccine.
We know b/c both Walgreen’s and the State have been in constant communication, and that both understand that there is sufficient vaccine to do more than is being done now. Sorry, but I can’t go any further w/o revealing a source, but the State has not said to my knowledge that there is NO remaining vaccine that should/could be used.
I’m not standing up for the big corporation here, but Walgreen’s has officially offered to deploy its immunizers onsite to help. If the choice is between immunizing more kids or fewer kids, I think the choice is clear.
This article was written in the spirit of constructive criticism. I hope that the powers-that-be take it that way. Or, if I’m completely off base, I encourage them to come here and say that.
Why aren’t school nurses giving the vaccine (if you want it given which is another discussion, entirely). Most of the ones I know are extremely overqualified, and they are more or less on site, already.
They do give the vaccine. However, when one couples the sheer volume of shots required with their other responsibilities, there are not enough hours in the day for school nurses to do all, or most, of them.
Especially since massive immunizations are not something they typically do.
(Oops, sorry, Brooke, didn’t mean to inadvertently e-mail my response to you…)
lol, s’okay. 😉
Most of the parents I’ve talked to about this have gotten their flu shots at private doctors, so my mental picture of school vaccinations involves lining us all up in the hall and going down the row. Probably with the same needle, lol. It’s a wonder any of us survived. 😀
The numbers coming out of the state reflect that very few kids are getting the vaccine at school. So I don’t think they’d go out and get it at the local Happy Harry’s. There’s just been a conscious decision on the part of many parents to forgo this one.
I agree w/you on that one, anon. However, I’ve seen some younger kids get really sick w/the H1N1.
Plus, in our case, we’d love for our daughter to get the shot, but the it still isn’t available at her school. Which, at least, partially explains the low number of kids getting inoculated at school.
Conversely, my other daughter who attends school in Pa. got her shot weeks ago.
This is where the state is blowing it–if there is such unmet need for delivering the vaccine, nurses as a volunteer corp are willing to go in and help. This “volunteer corp” of health professionals was set up post Katrina to identify individuals quickly to aid as needed for state emergencies, or elsewhere. If your writing or reporting suggests such manpower shortage, I’m sure this would qualify–and all someone needs to do is pick up their tin can and string that is connected to the State Board of Nursing, and perhaps request a lil’ help. Meanwhile, the demands on school nurses are for the schools–and pharmacists need to tend to their respective professional responsibilities. If the state wants to provide the vaccine beyond the usual public health outlets, perhaps they need to rethink distribution options of this unique flu season. Furthermore, while Walgreen’s may have shown good business sense in capturing a market majority in dispensation–do you really want to hear your pharmacist say ” I just learned this…this season”? Going forward, it would behoove them financially, and benevolently to employ a nurse or two during flu season, or a bunch seasonally–and not go thru an agency. Happy pharmacists, happy customers, happy state, happy nurses wanting part-time easy work, and happy bottom line. But maybe that’s just the way Happy Harry would have done it–or maybe even Alan Levin. Let my pharmacist figure out my drug interactions, and not the landmarks on my bicep to practice throwing darts.
Your proposal is an excellent one. There surely seems to be an unmet need for delivering the vaccine.
Just a note–many, if not most, of the pharmacists certified as immunizers have delivered shots for several years now.
The key question here to seems to be if there is a real unmet need. Which doesn’t seem to match up with numbers that are indicating that there are alot of parents opting their kids out of the vaccination.
Besides, if your school does not yet have it, why wouldn’t your kid’s doctor?
Your note is noted–but the ones I run with, just became “certified” this year. That aside, no doubt they are capable–but once again, it is an inefficient EXPENSIVE model to multi-task your pharmacists w/ immunizing, when the big money is in filling Accutane and Solodyn:)! Also of concern, and I have no idea how they schedule the pharmacist/immunizer–but if you are “in the zone” of meds, reactions, warnings, rechecks etc., etc.,..I think it’s pretty vulnerable to shift gears and do an immunization, and not lose the directed train of thought a pharmacist has and the follow thru accountability they execute continually w/ each transaction.
In full disclosure….I have been repeatedly known to express, I think pharmacists and librarians are the smartest people on earth the public underutilizes. But I value their knowledge, not their manpower. So who knows, maybe librarians or media specialists will be the next trained to immunize!
So do Happy Harry’s pharmacists just give out a flu vaccine to whoever walks in? I get my meds at the local Super G only because it is convenient and getting meds is rare for me. They give yearly flu vaccines but on a schedule — someone or someones come to the store at specific times and specific days to do it. I would imagine that the drug stores that have those attached clinics would be able to do that all of the time, tho.
Well, and bringing this up because I do NOT know, what is the train of accountability as regards insuring/certifying peoplewhovacinateyou (Vaccinators? the vaccinatori?).
If I go to my doctor, I’ve chosen them as a provider. If I go to the school nurse, they’re covered and vouched for by the district. If I walk into a drugstore, I likely have a previous relationship with my pharmacist. But if my child is vaccinated at school by a …. volunteer? from the community (albeit with some sort of training) and godforbid has a reaction who copes? Do they just phone me and say, “Little Marcus seems to be having trouble breathing, you might want to run him down to Nemours.”
Brooke–right now your child is NOT vaccinated by the school nurse–it is a public health team brought in by the state (a hired agency corp of nurses) to knock thru a couple of hundred kids quickly in the hours established. The school nurse is there for the paperwork, identifying, recording, whatever specific to that child’s health record at the school–so there is no “relationship”–it’s procedural–like the Army. The volunteer–is a licensed nurse–who has agreed to go in at no cost to assist. Not a volunteer, like a spare pair of hands shown how to innocculate. Pro bono work essentially. Hope this clears that up.
So the vaccinatori ElSom is suggesting go in also as public health nurses, yes? Therefore, responsibility is assumed by the state.
No Brooke, all responsibility you signed off on…the state, the feds, the school district…it’s just good ol’ trust at this point in the venture!
Oh and the drug companies–you did not sign off on them…Sebellius did that for you this past summer–complete legal immunity for any ontoward reaction–unprecedented in US history w/ pharma.
In response to Cass’s question (hey, I was watching the Iggles’ game), most Walgreen’s stores always had at least one certified immunizer available at any time for walk-ins. Staff also did all the paperwork as well. Sometimes there were waits if there was a back-up. But they tried to have someone more or less available at any given time to administer the vaccine. Don’t know how it would work with the H1N1.
When there is a shortage, shots are generally limited to the at-risk populations. So, most of those receiving the annual shots were aged 50 or over.
Well, I didn’t sign off on “any on ’em”. Just curious. 😉
One of my sisters got infected with H1N1 or more commonly known as Swine Flu. Fortunately, she did not have very high fever and she was able to recover fast .
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