Thoughts on shots

Yesterday, I flew out of school, barely trailing the buses heading home, to race (within the speed limit, of course) across town. One of our local elementary schools was running a H1N1 flu shot clinic, open and free to the public. The whole fam arrived 30 minutes before the start, and we only had an hour wait. The line wrapped around the school. Once our section started inching forward, I could better see the folks who had hours plus of wait time hiding behind us.

As for all of us getting the shot? Nope. We held off on Miles because there were no single-doses, ie Thimerosal-free, available. However, a health department worker said that there are some currently available in the area, and she shared that number with us. Thank God one of Jesse's friends walked over to say hello, and to let us know she wasn't letting her 20 month old get vaccinated last night because everything (except the nasal spray, which both of our kids are too young to receive) contained Thimerosal. I wasn't thinking clear enough to research this shot before making us line up; I was running on pure paranoia. As a teacher, I see lots of germy grossness, and typically I can take it all in stride. This year is a bit different: I am armed with Lysol, I am shopping for Haz-mat suits in fall colors, and my skin is starting to crust-off with my "every 2 minute sanitize hands" policy. OCD is coming more easily.

Spellcheck wants me to change OCD to CAD, and maybe I should. I do feel a bit like a cad for letting all the media hype scare me. But dang it, I just want to keep my kid healthy. I'll let you know what the local health department says about the availability of preservative-free H1N1 shots in the area. Hey townies, if you want that number, just let me know!