Shot Down

It was a perfectly smooth morning, perfect for a first Instrument lesson. I was supposed to have flights until 7 pm, but the other were canceled for one reason or the other, so I took the opportunity to work on some stuff for Kaylee going back to school.

One thing she needs is 6th grade vaccinations. The doctor couldn't get to her until October. The county health department couldn't do it until September. But Walgreens has walk-in vaccines. I called and verified that, and verified they had the four she needed. They had all four, but per company policy, would not give her one of the shots (chicken pox) unless she was over 50 years old. Weird, but okay, I could still get the other three done. I worked on her list of school supplies, figured out what we needed to buy vs what we already had, and then we took a trip to Walgreens. It was after we got there that I told her she was getting shots too. She was not thrilled. We went shopping first, and then I walked up and said we were there for vaccinations, and the lady said "Great, where are your prescriptions?" My what? Oh, nobody mentioned you have to have gone to a doctor anyway to get a prescription to get the shots, which, why wouldn't you then just get the shots from the doctor in the first place? Why must I get a prescription, I ask, for vaccinations that are state required of every kid anyway, but the answer is "because you must." Okay. So I take her home, and call the doctor for a prescription, and they tell me they won't give me one without seeing her in person, and by the way, we can't fit her in for three months. But in the meantime, the school could refuse to allow her to attend without the shots. Or I could claim religious reasons and refuse the shots and then they'd let her go after all. Insert seriously exaggerated eyeroll here.

I called around to various "walk-in" clinics and finally got her an appointment for one week after she starts school, and that's the best I can do with that. (Other than knowing ahead of time that I'd need to start the process 3 months early, but you'll have to forgive me, as I've never had a school-age child before and hadn't heard any other parent talking about planning months in advance for vaccinations.) At least these are the last vaccinations she'll have to have for a good while. I'm sure that thrills her, too. :)

Gotta love bureaucracy...