The so-called "swine flu" has been making its way around the region for a while, but questions were raised last week about why the vaccine hasn't been doing the same.

While there will be more than a dozen H1N1 vaccine clinics taking place across Pennsylvania this weekend, some people are questioning the process that the state has used until now to distribute the doses it had. "There's no rhyme or reason as to how it's being delivered," said Kathy Guatteri, executive director of Children's Community Pediatrics. Part of the problem has been that, in general, there just isn't enough of the vaccine available. So far, the state has been allocated 1.8 million doses, about half what was expected. Meanwhile, there have been more than 10,000 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in the state.

Check out Patricia Sabatini's report on the most popular holiday gift: Those little slivers of plastic that long ago replaced gift certificates. The good news is that gift cards have become more consumer-friendly, which is likely to make them an even hotter item in the future. Just don't forget to use them: Consumer Reports has said that shoppers lose up to $8 billion a year because of unused, lost or expired gift cards.

"Is there a doctor in the crowd? The CEO of UPMC [Jeffrey A. Romoff] needs a heart transplant."

-- Braddock Councilwoman Tina Doose, at a rally questioning UPMC's decision to close its hospital there

It's not unusual to hear Americans blaming politics for their economic woes. And last week, even local business leaders got in on the act. Dick's Sporting Goods chairman and CEO Edward W. Stack said Americans' worries about health care reform, taxes and unemployment were affecting their willingness to spend money (presumably on everything except Steelers jerseys). So while the company beat expectations for its third-quarter results, it warned that the fourth quarter could be a very different story.

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