It seems clear that we should all get our children vaccinated for swine flu. According to the CDC, the concerns that the vaccine was rushed (only the bureaucracy was rushed, not the making of the vaccine) and that the shot is made with thimerosal (most children will get the thimerosal-free nasal spray, but anyway there is no link between thimerosal and autism) are not convincing. But how do you get vaccinated?

New York City elementary school children will be getting H1N1 vaccinations for free in school in phases. Phase One will begin on October 28th in elementary schools with nurses and less than 400 students. Phase Two will begin on November 4th in some schools with more than 600 students. Phase Three will follow on November 9th. It will cover the remaining large schools, as well as schools with between 400 and 600 students. It will also include small schools that are attached to larger schools, and small schools that don't have their own nurses. These dates are dependent upon availability of the vaccine, of course. Right now production of the vaccine is several weeks behind schedule.

But what about preschoolers, toddlers and younger children who are not in school. How do you get a vaccine for younger children? Well, despite all the hype about how we should all get vaccinated, getting the vaccine isn't so easy. I called a random sampling of the clinics listed on the NYC government's H1N1 website and none of them have the vaccine. I also called a few popular pediatricians and none of them have swine flu vaccine available.

So it seems like right now there is no flu vaccine availability in New York City, but both the flu vaccination clinics and the pediatricians said they are expecting to get a second wave of vaccine in November. So what should you do to get your young child vaccinated from H1N1?

1. Call your pediatrician and find out when they expect the vaccine and see if they can notify you when it's available.

2. Visit the NYC government influenza information website where you can get updates on swine flu and find a flu vaccination clinic near you.

3. Or you can search for a flu vaccination clinic here:

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