Dallas to share H1N1 vaccine doses with area pharmacies
By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-11-16 13:28:57 | Word Count: 372
Nearly 20,000 swine flu vaccine doses are headed to North Texas and are expected to arrive in Dallas by the end of the week.
With one mass vaccination clinic already under their belt, the Dallas County Health Department is working on different plans for another.
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But, those with insurance have started to ask why it's so hard to find the vaccine. A pregnant Juliana Crownover said she has been on a futile search for H1N1 vaccine.
"I had given up hope," she said. "I didn't think it was going to be a possibility, nobody seemed to have it."
Expectant mothers are at particularly high risk when it comes to swine flu. Yet, practices such as Texas Health Dallas, which serves high-risk, insured patients, don't have enough vaccine doses for their patients.
Dr. John Bertrand said turning away women trying to protect their unborn babies has been hard.
"And when they can't get it and they know others are getting it, then it doesn't seem right and they've been frustrated," he said.
It's a gap in accessibility that Zachary Thompson, the director for the Dallas County Health Department, acknowledges.
"The insured population who are in the CDC priority group, they're only penalized for having insurance," he said.
After countless complaints, the department is taking unprecedented action by working out a deal to share thousands of expected doses with area pharmacies.
"People need to be able to get the vaccine and it should not be based on whether you have insurance or not," Thompson said.
After abandoning hope of getting the vaccine, Crownover said she finally got an unexpected call Tuesday and rushed to her obstetrician to get the shot.
The next Dallas County mass vaccination clinic will be held November 21 at Antioch Baptist Church in Oak Cliff. Details are still being worked out.
