Vaccinations and Voting

On Monday, Kate and I spent five--yes, FIVE--hours at the health department. Why? So I could get myself vaccinated against H1N1. We had been the previous Friday, but the wait then was two to three hours, and we didn't have that much time due to the errands we had to run before going out of town. So we went back first thing on Monday morning.

The health department here opens at 8:30 a.m. By the time I got parked, got Kate out of the car and walked up to the building (we had to park in a lower parking lot), it was about 8:37. The (very small) waiting area was already full, so I put my name on the list for the H1N1 vax and stepped outside to wait. I was told the wait was going to be about three hours--not what I wanted to hear, of course, but I thought, "Well, we'll wait it out and be done by lunch. Then I can take Kate to Chick-fil-A and head home for naptime." hahahhahaha!

There were several of us waiting outside, including some people who kept their kids out of school for the day in order to get the vax. I met two adoptive mothers and enjoyed talking to them, and Kate made a new friend named Henry. When you wait for that long, you get to know a little about the others who are in line with you (although, we didn't have to wait in an actual line--the sign-in sheet was our line).

If you wanted to leave and come back, you could--but it was a gamble because if your name came up while you were gone, then you lost your place. It was a risk I wasn't willing to take. The good thing is that the weather was decent, and the waiting area was not a place for a lot of traffic. Fortunately, I had brought plenty of suckers and a few snacks--but not lunch. Had I known our wait would have been so long, I am not sure I would have stuck it out. But when you've been waiting for a couple of hours already and you think your time is coming soon ... you don't want to leave. You have too much invested.

Loooooong story short, it was after 1 o'clock when I was about to lose it. By this time, I had completed the paperwork and was in a back hallway waiting for my turn. I was next. The family that had signed in just before me had already been in and out. They were gone. In fact, I soon realized I was the only one there who had been waiting since opening time. I went up to the front desk and asked how much longer it would be. When the lady (a new lady who wasn't up there previously) said she didn't know because the others had gone to lunch, the tears started. Keep in mind I hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch--and Kate hadn't eaten lunch, either. She had been doing really well considering, but still.

Anyway, it wasn't too long afterward that I finally got the mist. I was told that I got the last one they had--but they were expecting more at any time. I was grateful, but it had been a long morning. Whew! To look on the bright side, I didn't have to pay anything, and parking was free.

When Kate got her first round of the mist at this same health center three weeks prior, the wait was NOTHING like this. I think a lot of people's minds are changing regarding this vaccination, and I am glad. (It seems like so many people were against it (or undecided) just a few weeks ago.) It is a personal decision, of course, but I think it is extremely important to get vaccinated--and to make sure your loved ones are vaccinated as well. Kate still needs to get her second dose of the H1N1 mist. She has an appointment at her pedi's office, and I hope they have the vaccine so we can keep that appointment. I really don't want to wait hours and hours again ... but I probably would--especially to protect our little girl against this very serious illness.


On Tuesday, I took Kate to a CVS Minute Clinic to get her seasonal flu shot. (She got the H1N1 mist, so she got the seasonal flu shot.) One of the moms I talked to at the health department told me that CVS was giving seasonal flu shots to children 18 months and older. I got my flu shot at Kroger last month, but Kroger would not administer the shot to a child Kate's age. We have an appointment at her pedi's office for this vax as well, but it isn't until December, and I didn't want to wait that long.


I highly recommend the CVS Minute Clinic. It is very convenient. Kate did well. She didn't even cry when she got the shot. Not one tear! She was too excited about the sucker that was waiting for her. I had been saving it and withholding it from her until right before she got stuck. She was so thrilled to finally have her sucker, I don't even know if she realized that she got a shot. LOL! She also got some stickers for her bravery. hahaha!


One of Kate's "Flu Bug" stickers from the CVS Minute Clinic


I also got a sticker on Tuesday--for voting!


We left CVS and headed over to our voting precinct so Mommy could cast her ballot. There was no waiting! (Kate came to vote with me last year, too.)


Kate says, "Don't forget to vote!" Looks like we'll be back here next month, as there will be a runoff election in Atlanta's mayoral race.

P.S. Tanna got his H1N1 vaccine later in the week, and he got his seasonal flu shot back in September. So we are all caught up on our flu vaccinations as of today--Kate just needs to get her second dose, for which she will be eligible starting next week.