National snafus with flu vaccine

We are over 65 and have been attempting to get seasonal flu shots. My doctor does not have the vaccine. We encountered a ridiculous situation at the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center. Shots supposedly were available from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. We arrived at 9:30 a.m. and were told by people who were leaving that no more shots were available. We returned home, and I called the health department. I found out that 300 shots were available, all of which were allotted to those queued up before 9:30 a.m. The person who answered the phone said there was no way of telling if and when the health department would receive more vaccine.

I haven't any complaints with the local health authorities, but it seems to me the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is sorely lacking. I can understand the problems of the H1N1 vaccine, but it seems ridiculous to have a problem with the distribution of the garden-variety flu vaccine that has been growing in laboratories for months.

If this portends what is to come with a national health plan so eagerly pursued by our president and legislators, our health and well-being are in serious jeopardy. Our government cannot run anything well.

JOHN RUESTER, Cape Girardeau