There are two

‘There are two flu shots this year?’ That’s what the mom standing behind me in line at the flu clinic yesterday asked me- ‘yes’ I said, ‘two’. ‘What’s the second one?’ Huh? I’m sorry what was that? I don’t think I heard you right…right? Dooo…you watch the news? Read the newspaper? Go on the internets? Go to work????? How does one not know about the two shots this year? How, when every which way you turn this year we’re getting blasted with words like ‘worldwide pandemic’, images of people wearing surgical masks and parents shipping their kids off to school with multiple bottles (1 for the backpack, 1 for the desk, 1 for recess- ok so 3 at least!) of hand sanitizer with the warning that if they fail to use it and carry it with them at ALL times, a fate worse than a Saturday afternoon with no iCarly reruns (for my daughter anyway) awaits them. I turned around and said in my most non ‘have you been living under a rock?’ voice I could find (I had one of those?) and said ‘yes there are two- one for the seasonal flu & one for the Swine flu’ and pointed to the sign posted slightly above our heads. I turned back around pleased with myself because, hell yeah that counted as my good deed for the day. I had just helped the CDC out by informing a previously uninformed concerned parent that we are on the brink of global disaster. Yey me!

Yes, there are two and yesterday afternoon Kaitlyn got both! She still has to go back at then end of next month to get a booster, but half way vaccinated is better than not at all. She hasn’t ever needed one before because thankfully we were blessed with a very healthy girl and she has never fallen into the flu shot required guidelines- even when she was a baby. So now the Elston house has been mostly vaccinated and made ready for the impending pandemic that they say is just around the corner, next week I think(?). I say mostly because Paul & I haven’t gotten the H1N1 yet. Why? Haven’t you heard? Yup, there’s a shortage in just about every county and just the other day the manufacturer was on the national news saying ‘H1N1 won’t be available until next year…’. Next yeeeaarrr. But if I get the H1N1 shot next year, will it also work for the H2N2 virus that I’m sure is scheduled to hit next year as well?? No? Figures. I’m always behind the trends.

The two- H1N1 shot & Seasonal Flu shot, have you gotten yours yet?