We are sorry that patients are having trouble scheduling flu clinic appointments. We have not entered the "flu season" yet. The seasonal flu vaccine is available to our office only in allocated shipments from the manufacturer and unfortunately, we do not control these shipment dates. Therefore we are as yet unable to schedule flu vaccine clinics since there is no vaccine available. We are sorry this has caused some patients to have to call multiple times in order to schedule their appointment, but we do not want to schedule an appointment if there is no vaccine in the office.

Patients have wondered why flu vaccine is readily available at retail outlets (Dominick's, Walgreens, etc.), but limited at Town and Country Pediatrics. The retail outlet flu vaccine is manufactured in multi-dose vials and contains a preservative (thimerosal). Historically, our patients have preferred a preservative free vaccine. This is the reason Town and Country Pediatrics special orders only flu vaccine without a preservative (thimerosal). There is a limited amount of vaccine without thimerosal and both the orders and shipments are controlled by the manufacturer. The manufacturer is aware of our need for the vaccine and is doing its best to supply us as quickly as possible.

Please remember that the H1N1 flu vaccine is different from the seasonal flu vaccine. We are still waiting for a response from the Chicago Department of Public Health to find out whether we will receive the government-purchased H1N1 vaccine in our office for our patient population. Our application s currently pending. The FDA approved H1N1 vaccine from 4 manufacturers yesterday. Our information about the administration of this vaccine and when it may become available is taken directly from the website of the Centers for Disease Control. Please click the link if you are interested in viewing the website. We will update you when we have information about where and when this vaccine will be distributed.

If we are able to administer the H1N1 flu vaccine in our office, we will follow the CDC mandated guidelines for administration to our patient population. The U.S. government will require Town and Country Pediatrics to document who is receiving H1N1 flu vaccine so we will follow tier guidelines that will be set up by the CDC. We will continue to update you via email as the situation warrants.