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14 OCT 04: THE TIME FLU
More than 700 people lined up at the Columbus Health Department office Wednesday for flu shots. Maybe if the Columbus Wardogs had offered this at games last summer, the franchise would still be in business.
Did I hear it right, that nearly 200 people were in line for flu vaccine before 7:00 a.m.?! This group probably will be together again before long - outside Peachtree Mall on the morning after Thanksgiving.
The Columbus Health Department assigned people numbers, as they arrived for flu shots. Hopefully the person assigned number 666 will be monitored extra carefully through the winter. Pentecostal preachers will want to know if he or she dies, or turns into a beast....
Some people reported they waited more than three hours for a flu shot. I take a very different approach to this - by waiting all winter, watching the annual panic end and congratulating myself for saving about 20 bucks.
Apparently some people from Alabama went to the Columbus Health Department for flu shots. They were turned away, because the vaccine was only for people in several Georgia counties. Any little edge helps for the Auburn-Georgia game, you know....
Not everyone in Columbus is eligible for the Health Department's flu shots, either. They're offered only to "high-risk" groups of people:
+ Pregnant women. Come to think of it, Wednesday night's Presidential debate should have brought up whether those women need TWO shots -- one for each person.
+ Health workers involved with direct patient care. Can't they simply cover themselves with anti-bacterial soap?
+ Children on "chronic aspirin therapy." I'm not sure what this is - or even what Excedrin headache number it has.
The Columbus Health Department eventually suspended the lines for the day, but will restart the vaccination process this morning. This is good news for local beggars. They'll have a second chance to make money, holding the numbers of people who need to use the restroom.
A woman from Harris County told me Wednesday she wishes flu vaccine would be offered there. She says she has trouble walking, and the Columbus Health Department on Comer Avenue is so busy that "you can't find a place to park." Don't let Columbus Council know about that - or meters might show up in the parking lot.
But haven't we seen this fear of the flu before - like last winter? The vaccine ran out in December or January, but the flu season turned out to be mild. The way people are lining up this time, you'd think we're going to get one flu bug for every hurricane which came ashore.
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