Too Old To Get H1N1 Vaccine November 19, 2009
Posted by Bob Aronson in journaling.8 comments
If you are over age 64 and you want the H1N1 flu vaccine (swine flu) forget it! Even if you meet the criteria set forth by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) you will not be allowed to get the vaccine. I know, today I was refused a shot. This development has great significance for everyone over 64 and especially transplant patients with compromised immune systems.
According to the CDC website (http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/highrisk.htm) these are the criteria for getting an H1N1 shot:
1. People at High Risk for Developing Flu-Related Complications
- Children younger than 5, but especially children younger than 2 years old
- Adults 65 years of age and older
- Pregnant women
2. People who have medical conditions including:
- Asthma
- Neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions [including disorders of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerve, and muscle such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy (seizure disorders), stroke, intellectual disability (mental retardation), moderate to severe developmental delay, muscular dystrophy, or spinal cord injury].
- Chronic lung disease (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and cystic fibrosis)
- Heart disease (such as congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease)
- Blood disorders (such as sickle cell disease)
- Endocrine disorders (such as diabetes mellitus)
- Kidney disorders
- Liver disorders
- Metabolic disorders (such as inherited metabolic disorders and mitochondrial disorders)
- Weakened immune system due to disease or medication (such as people with HIV or AIDS, or cancer, or those on chronic steroids)
I fit into three of the criteria. I have asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) I am over 65 and because of my heart transplant two years ago I have a suppressed immune system. My transplant cardiologists strongly recommend that people like me should get the H1N1 shot yet when I showed up at the clinic today I was told by the nurse that I couldn’t have the shot because I was over 64. I double and triple checked to see if that is true and it is. The government doesn’t care if your health is at great risk from H1N1 if you are over 64. What I infer from this regulation is that CDC has determined that people my age don’t have much time left anyway so lets not waste vaccine on them even if they meet other criteria.
I would immediately agree that children and pregnant women should get the vaccine ahead of all others. That only seems fair and fairness is all I ask. Never before in my life have I been told I was too old for something. This smacks of governmental age discrimination.
If you agree that this situation is unfair and discriminatory let your congressional delegation know. Call them, email them or stop them on the street. CDC should not be allowed to say one thing in public and then introduce restrictions in private.
Please visit and join my Facebook site, Organ Transplant Patients, Families and Friends at http://tinyurl.com/225cfh OR — my Facebook home page http://www.facebook.com/home.php
If You’re Not Disabled, Don’t Park There! November 2, 2009
Posted by Bob Aronson in Bobservations.7 comments
I’ve taken time off from blogging for the last few months because I was taking care of myself with my own self styled mental/emotional therapy. For fifty years my parents ran a “Mom and Pop” side street grocery store in my home town of Chisholm, Minnesota. To honor and remember them I have built from memory and a pitiful few photographs, a scale model replica of the store and the attached house. The project took the better part of two years and was completed yesterday Sunday November 1, 2009. When I get some pictures taken I will post them.
As to blogging, there is something that has bothered me for quite some time and that is the fact that there seems to be a great number of people using disabled parking illegally. As you know I had a heart transplant a little over two years ago. My new heart is working extremely well and if anything I have more energy than ever before. Unfortunately I have COPD (chronic oppressive pulmonary disease) which makes it extremely difficult for me to breathe. Almost any exertion leaves me out of breath so I have a disabled parking permit and use the spaces often. They are a Godsend when you can’t walk very far.
What disturbs me is the number of people who think the rules don’t apply to them and when it comes to disabled parking they fall into two categories, 1) those without permits that ignore the signs and 2) those that have permits that belong to someone else.
The first group is easy to deal with. If you see a vehicle in a disabled space that has neither special license plates nor a permit hanging from the rear view mirror, notify the authorities. In most cases there is at least a $250 fine for this deliberate violation of the law and of the rights of the disabled.
The second group is more difficult to deal with. I fully recognized that not every disabled person is in a wheelchair, I’m not so in many cases when I see people hang the tag on the mirror and walk to the store I ignore it. People deserve the benefit of the doubt. But, when I see people park, display the permit and then sprint across the lot into a store I get angry. Too many able bodied people use permits issued to friends or family members. I know of some people who are using permits that were owned by deceased relatives. How disrespectful can you be?
Many people who are awaiting transplants but are ambulatory need those spaces. They are not reserved for lazy people but rather for those who genuinely need to be close because they can’t walk very far. Many other people who are not transplant candidates also have very serious disabilities that require them to park as near to their destination as possible. Without disabled parking many people would be forced to either stay at home or face the danger of having to walk farther than they are physically capable of doing.
I was at an art show with my wife recently and I parked in one of the few disabled spaces that were available. Two burly guys in a pickup truck pulled in next to me in the space reserved for Vans for the disabled and began to sprint away. I rolled down the window and told them it was not a parking space and that they should move. They got quite belligerent and after several profanities and hand gestures they grudgingly moved — a half block away. I’ll bet the walk absolutely exhausted them.
You should do the same. Challenge people who park illegally, notify the authorities. The space they occupy may be the one you or a loved one will need someday.
Also, please visit and join my Facebook site, Organ Transplant Patients, Families and Friends at http://tinyurl.com/225cfh OR — my Facebook home page http://www.facebook.com/home.php
