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If you're lucky, you may have found an H1N1 flu shot. But for most people, the message is: Be patient.
Federal health officials promised the country would have 120 million doses of swine flu vaccine by now. Those predictions haven't held true.
Today, only 23 million doses of the vaccine have become available from five pharmaceutical companies.
As a result, vaccine availability is spotty.
On Thursday, Mecklenburg's emergency medical service, MEDIC, began offering vaccine to firefighters who respond to medical emergencies.
About 145 firefighters came by the MEDIC office for vaccinations, but "a healthy number" declined, said MEDIC spokesman Jeff Keith. "People seem to have very strong feelings about vaccination."
While some people worry about the vaccine's safety, many are standing in line to get it.
Last weekend, the Union County Health Department gave out about 900 doses of H1N1 vaccine at a clinic in Monroe, but about 1,000 people were turned away.
"It's good that people were responding to the call to be vaccinated," said Union County Health Director Phillip Tarte. "It's just unfortunate that we don't have enough vaccine at this time."
Until more vaccine becomes available, experts recommend that it be reserved for people at high risk for flu complications. That includes pregnant women, children and young adults, health care workers, emergency responders and anyone with a chronic illness that weakens the immune system.
It won't be offered to healthy people or in mass clinics until later.
Vaccine is trickling into Charlotte's two hospital systems, which own dozens of doctors' offices.
"We've been told...that the supply will continue to be a fraction of what we expected through November into December," said Carolinas HealthCare System spokeswoman Gail Rosenberg.
Carolinas HealthCare has used its initial doses to vaccinate about 5,000 employees who have contact with patients. But this week, the organization instructed doctors' offices to start vaccinating high-risk patients. "We have physician practices with thousands of patients that have only received a hundred or so doses," Rosenberg said. "Supply continues to be very limited and very erratic."
Novant Health, which owns Presbyterian Healthcare, continues to give its vaccine to high-risk patients, as it has since the first batch arrived early this month.
The Novant system, which includes hospitals in Charlotte and Winston-Salem, ordered enough vaccine to inoculate 25,000 employees and 200,000 patients. Of the patient doses, 100,000 will go to Presbyterian in Charlotte.
But so far, Novant has received only 14,000 doses, including 10,000 this week, said Dr. Jim Lederer, the system's medical director for clinical improvement.
"Our approach will be to continue to focus on high-risk groups," he said. "But think about Charlotte and pregnant women alone. That's an awful lot. Then think about children. You're way past 10,000....I guess the final word is 'hang in there.'"
Some drugstores get supply
Some CVS stores in Charlotte have had vaccine. But Rite Aid stores have not.
"We don't know on a day-to-day basis what we're getting or where we're getting it," said Cheryl Slavinsky, a spokeswoman for Rite Aid.
Some Rite Aid stores in Oregon, Washington and Kentucky have had swine flu vaccine, but none yet in the Carolinas. "It's crazy," she said. "Right now people just have to be patient and not panic."
Since early October, Mecklenburg County Health Department has received about 6,900 doses of swine flu vaccine. They have been distributed to other providers, such as MEDIC and the two hospital systems, or given to health department employees who have patient contact. The department has ordered a total of 106,000 doses. When more vaccine arrives, the department will take appointments for vaccinations.
Federal health officials say much more vaccine should be available in the next several weeks.
"More and more doses becoming available regularly," said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "I know that it's hard to find in a lot of places. I appreciate the frustration. We all had hoped to have more vaccine now than we have."
