Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Flu shot shenanigans

*

(Vaccine is produced by culturing chicken eggs. As the virus mutates from year to year, each year demands a fresh vaccine formulation. Manufacturers try to hold customers to their orders in order to protect their profit margins in this speculative environment -- an entirely understandable tactic. Photo, Baltimore Sun.)


Y'know, nothing seems to be straightforward around here anymore.

Take flu shots.

The City has coordinated offering them to Seniors and other residents for dog's years.

When PT reported on Sunday ("Flu season? What flu season?") about the lack of flu shot clinics by the City this year, he thought it was a one-liner -- None offered. Period.

Turns out that based on last year's experience, ADDITIONAL FLU SHOTS were ordered IN MAY for this year's flu season.

THREE FLU CLINICS were scheduled -- one at the Senior Center on Saturday October 21, and two at the Health Department in City Hall Annex on Saturdays October 28 and November 4.

ALL THREE WERE CANCELED BY THE ADMINISTRATION.
(See the PS at end of post.)

But not, it seems, the entire order for flu vaccines. Why not?

PT is told that while PARTIAL CANCELLATIONS of advance orders are allowed, cancellation of an ENTIRE ORDER invokes a financial penalty.

Canceling only part of the order allowed the City to escape the penalty.

What happened to the vaccines the City DID TAKE?

A flu clinic was offered to CITY EMPLOYEES ONLY on December 12, according to a flyer that PT picked up at the Information Desk in the City Hall rotunda.

No cost was mentioned.

Did the Administration plan to cheat the public of the opportunity for flu shots? Or was it simply incompetent?

What value DOES the Administration place on the public health?


One wag suggests the savings may have helped fatten the Mayor's 'eats and treats' budget.

Such a suggestion is a cold cut indeed.

But PT will not go there.

-- Dan Damon

PS -- As you can see from the comment below, flu shots were offered at the Annex on November 18th, whether for the general public or for employees only is not clear. That's NOT the day originally scheduled. As for whether it was 'widely advertised'. . .WHERE? PT regularly scans the flyers at the City Hall information desk and didn't see any -- though of course they could all have been scarfed up. Meanwhile, the point of the whole exercise was that the MOST VULNERABLE population is SENIORS, and PT was told by Senior Center staff that NO CLINICS were offered there. PT does not consider the comment a KO or even a TKO.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

We got flu shots at the City Hall Annex November 18. It was widely advertised. Sorry, Dan, you got this one wrong.

Anonymous said...

We aren't city employees. We spotted an annoucement either in the paper or in City Hall or maybe both, so we went and got our shots. The seniors were bused from the Senior Center to Runnells and got the shots at no charge.

Anonymous said...

You have apparently chosen not to post my response to your comment. If it contradicts your assertion obviously it's not worth posting.

Anonymous said...

No flu shots were given at the senior center but seniors were taken by bus to Runnells where flu shots were given. Other people of all ages, not just city employees, could get them November 18 at the city hall annex.