Letters

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   HAVE YOUR SAY Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor. You’ll need to include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 250 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another. Send it to: E-mail: letters@heraldnet.com Mail: Letters section The Herald P.O. Box 930 Everett, WA 98206 Fax: 425-339-3458 Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson (cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472).   Published: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 H1N1 VACCINE Situation fluid, so let’s stay flexible As a former nurse, I frequently get questions from friends and family about health issues. Swine flu is no exception. I have some observations about my experience in that area. There is a fair amount of anxiety about how and where to get the vaccine. Frankly, I am somewhat impressed that there is vaccine ready to distribute already, since seasonal flu preps start at least a year out. Having said that, there are a few suggestions I think might be helpful for people struggling to find vaccine and those struggling to provide it: The situation is fluid. Vaccine is coming, but not in a regular, predetermined manner. I think it is best not to expect lists and schedules to be accurate too many days out so please check Web sites frequently (www.snohd.org). It would be helpful if on the Web site, when new information is not available, that it be stated when an update is expected. Ultimately, we are all responsible for our own health, so if you hit a roadblock, don’t give up. Check another source, e-mail someone, call someone. On the provider side, having been on that side of the phone during big events like the E. coli outbreak in 1994, I know that it can be hard day after day to deal with frustrated, frightened people, especially when the information can be changeable. Be honest with people. Providers are expected to know everything, but the truth is, they sometimes don’t get the information any sooner than the public does. The best way to improve on our response to things like this is to support science in general. After eight years of an assault on science, we have catching up to do. Supporting health care and insurance reform and the move toward electronic records will also help us in future events like this. We are all in this together. Take a deep breath and stay informed. Teresa Courtney Snohomish

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