Attention parents of Blue Fish Pediatrics: there will be a H1N1 flu vaccine clinic on Saturday, November 7, 2009. This will be the first of several H1N1 flu vaccine clinics depending on our stock. The flu vaccine will be available ONLY to Blue Fish patients. Patients 2 years and older will be given the intranasal vaccine, unless they are considered high-risk patients (i.e. asthmatic). High risk patients will receive an injectable H1N1 flu vaccine. Patients under 2 years old will receive an injectable H1N1 flu vaccine. An intranasal vaccine cannot be given within 28 days of another intranasal vaccine. Due to limited supply, parents will not be vaccinated (including those with children under 6 months). For more information as to who can receive the H1N1 flu vaccine, please read the H1N1 flu vaccine waiver Currently only the intranasal is available for children older than 2. Please check our website for future injectable availability for children under 2 or sign-up for our newsletter here.
The Saturday H1N1 flu vaccine clinic will begin at 8:00 AM and will end at 12:00 PM (noon). In order to reduce the wait time, we will be implementing a ticketing system. There will be a set amount of tickets for every thirty minute period from 8:00 to 12:00 handed out on a first-come-first-serve basis. To illustrate: tickets will be given out starting at 8:00 AM. If there is a line at 8:00 AM the tickets for the 8:00-8:30 time period will be dispensed. As soon as those tickets run out, the 8:30-9:00 tickets will be given, followed by the 9:00-9:30 tickets.
Once you have a ticket, you can either stay and wait for your time slot or leave and return at that time. There will be a limited number of tickets distributed based on vaccine availability. Parents can also choose tickets for a preferred time slot if the tickets are available.
Please, do not call the office for a H1N1 flu vaccine appointment. The H1N1 flu vaccine will only be offered at the weekend H1N1 flu vaccine clinic. No phone call or prior notification is necessary for this.
Payment
Although the vaccine itself is free, the cost of administering the vaccine falls on the patient and/or insurance companies. Please read the following carefully. Regrettably, the answer is complicated and beyond our control.
Cash paying patients: The cost is $15 for injection or intranasal
Medicaid and CHIP: The vaccine is covered by your insurance as long as we have the H1N1 flu vaccine in stock.
Commercial Insurance: You will have to pay your copay for your insurance. Even if your copay is higher than what we charge our cash paying patients, we are contractually obligated by the insurance carrier to charge you the full copay amount. In the past we have tried multiple times to negotiate with the insurance carriers to allow us to charge you the same price as our cash paying patients, and they would not budge on this matter. We apologize for this inconvenience, but legally we are obligated to do so. You always have the option of receiving the flu vaccine elsewhere such as a grocery store or pharmacy for their cash price (as they are not contracted with your insurance company).