Swine Flu and H1N1 Vaccinations

Flu season comes early; most are swine variety

WASHINGTON – Influenza is circulating unusually early this year with cases in all 50 states — nearly all the swine flu variety, government health officials said Friday.

The highest concentration of flu cases is in the Southeast and a few other states, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at a briefing.

The good news is that testing of vaccines for swine flu show that they work with a single dose and take effect rapidly.

Supplies of swine flu vaccine are expected to be available in mid-October, but the seasonal flu vaccine is available now and officials have encouraged people to get it.

The H1N1 swine flu broke out in the spring and never went away, Schuchat said. It struck in many summer camps, spread into the Southern Hemisphere and now is widening its range. Currently 98 percent of the flu viruses circulating are swine flu.

Cases are mainly occurring in children and young adults, Schuchat said.

The finding that the swine flu vaccine works in a single dose in healthy adults "shortens the window of worry," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said. "There's no better protection against the flu than vaccine."

There had been concerns that it would take two doses to build up immunity, delaying the protection.

While the single dose works in adults, testing is still under way to determine the effectiveness of the vaccine in children and pregnant women, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

He said the tested vaccines were made by Sanofi Pasteur and CSL Ltd. and both produced "robust" immune responses.

In people aged 18 to 64, 96 percent had a strong response to the Sanofi version and the response was 80 percent for CSL. Fauci played down the difference, noting the tests were done after only eight to 10 days and immune response could be the same in both groups as it increases after that point.

In addition, there were no significant side effects, Fauci said.

People over 65 did not respond as strongly, but still got enough of an immune reaction that they should seek out the shots when their turn comes, officials said.

First on the list for the swine flu shots, however, are children and young adults, pregnant women and others with health problems, since the H1N1 flu seems to strike them more often.

Older people are more at risk from the regular seasonal flu and — along with other people — should get those shots now, Sebelius said.

She noted she got her own seasonal flu shot Friday at a school in nearby Alexandria, Va.

Why bother with the seasonal shot, since nearly all the current flu cases are swine flu?

"The fact that the (seasonal) virus is not circulating now is absolutely no reason not to get vaccinated," Fauci said. "You would hope that you would get vaccinated before the seasonal flu is circulating so you will have an immune response."

Fauci said it still appears the bulk of the swine flu vaccine will be available in mid-October, though there is a possibility some may be available sooner, "we hope."

"The disease is increasing already and it is still a bit of a race to get the vaccine out there ahead of the disease," Schuchat said.

Even with the swine flu spreading now there will still be plenty of need for the vaccine, the officials stressed.

One dose means tight supplies of H1N1 vaccine won't be stretched so thin after all. The U.S. has ordered 195 million doses, based on the hope that 15 micrograms was indeed the right dose. Had it taken twice that dosage, or two shots apiece, half as many people could have received the vaccine.

The CDC reported Friday that last week influenza was widespread in Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Guam. Only New Hampshire and Rhode Island had no flu cases last week.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_med_swine_flu

Laga, thanks for posting what your doc has told you. There must be others like you that should not get the shot and, because of your post, they will question their doc before signing up at a drugstore. They might have benefited therefore from your post, otherwise not knowing that it would not be advisable for them to get it.

Wrap, excellent article---thanks for posting it.

Is swine flu worse than the regular flu? WHAS TV11 Louisville AP – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius listens as President Barack Obama speaks to reporters … 22 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The nation's first round of swine flu shots could begin sooner than expected, with some vaccine available as early as the first week of October, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday.

Sebelius said she is confident the vaccine will be available early enough to beat the peak of the expected flu season this fall and that early doses are intended for health care workers and other high-priority groups.

"We're on track to have an ample supply rolling by the middle of October. But we may have some early vaccine as early as the first full week in October. We'll get the vaccine out the door as fast as it rolls off the production line," she told ABC's "This Week."

The possibility of early shots follows encouraging news from last week about the swine flu vaccine. Researchers have discovered that one dose instead of two could be enough for healthy adults, and protection could begin once vaccinated within 10 days instead of three weeks.

"That's great, which means we'll have a lot more vaccine," she said. "We also have seen a robust immune response within 10 days, instead of three weeks as was feared."

Sebelius said the vaccine doses will be distributed immediately to designated locations across the country once they are available.

"Every state has a plan saying these are the sites to get the vaccine as quickly as possible into people's arms. That's where the distribution will go," she said.

"So, the first week in October, we expect some of the vaccine to begin to roll, and by mid-October, to have the kind of supplies we were talking about. But we may have some available earlier. And we'll get it out to states as fast as it comes off the production lines," Sebelius said.

One dose means tight supplies of H1N1 vaccine won't be stretched so badly. Had it taken twice that dose, or two shots apiece, half as many people could have received the vaccine.

The winter flu vaccine is widely available now, and health authorities urged people last week to get shots now before swine flu shots start arriving.

In addition to concerns about swine flu, doctors also expect some garden-variety flu this fall as well, an illness that typically kills 36,000 Americans and hospitalizes 200,000 each year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090913/ap_on_he_me/us_swine_flu_shots

I think anyone with cancer or a compromised immunity should NOT go to the local pharmacy to get these shots. Go to your doctor who has your medical history!!

Of interest to me is whether this is a live virus vaccine or a dead virus used in the vaccine. It seems to me that a live virus vaccine would be more risky in immune-compromised people. They might also have to avoid those recently vaccinated if there is possible contact as there is with the live virus Polio vaccine---older adults shouldn't make contact with the baby's diapers or body fluids as they might get polio in the days immediately following the vaccination. With all the discussion on it, I have yet to read anything that answers this question.

Terryrose, I don't know what the truth is either but I found this alarming article. if it can be believed....check it out and tell me what you think...I didn't know if I should post the contents or not.

http://www.infowars.com/swine-flu-vaccines-contain-live-h1n1-virus/

laga, thanks for digging that up and yes, you should definitely post it and let the members judge for themselves if the author has a valid point or not.

I have known people myself who get very sick when they get a seasonal flu shot---they get a case of the flu because they are immune-compromised, so that is a consideration for them.

For children, I would say this: Why can't they make it without the mercury? Putting that consideration aside for a moment, I would draw a correlation between the Polio shot/oral vaccines and the epidemic of polio in the early 1950s. Many children got paralyzed for life and many to such an extent that they needed to exist in iron lungs because the muscles that control breathing were paralyzed. Two scientists competed to bring forth an effective vaccine and the first one to be used was a series of shots of the dead polio virus. A decade later, all were revaccinated using the live oral vaccine. In the process of racing to find a vaccine, they used a population of school children for their early trials. The first trials conducted on a group of little children was a fiasco resulting in the deaths of 10 children and 260 children got polio from the vaccine.

Smallpox vaccine came about because of the scourge of this disease. My first child, born in 1969 still received the vaccine for it. When I questioned the doc why my second child was not scheduled to get this, he simply said, they have discontinued the vaccine because there have been more deaths from the vaccine in this country than there have been from the illness itself in recent years (at that time).

Now, flash to the present. How about the Human Papiloma Virus vaccine that they want to give our little girls starting at age 11 to prevent adult cervical cancer that the sexually transmitted virus causes. As I hear more and more about this vaccine, I am glad that I do not have to make a decision for my daughters and hope that my granddaughters' mothers make a wise one. Just last week, there was a report that this vaccine has caused 30 deaths so far and there have been numerous very bad side effects (some are long-lasting side effects) in many.

I am trying to make a point here. Post the article and let everyone who reads it make their own decision. My point is ALL vaccines are a trade-off---They are not risk free and probably not side-effect free, yet we opt to have them because the diseases that they can prevent us from having are very nasty, sometimes fatal or disabling diseases. People have to decide for themselves which risk they will take.

Terry,
Thank you, because it is a personal decision for all. I refuse to take the flu shot. My brother who works for the govt is given orders to take it and every time, it turns into a horrible lung/respitory issue for him and my mom, she did it one time and had the same issues.

I just say NO to the vaccine for flu. I have never taken one yet. I try my best to be clean and pray.

I will take the chance before the shot.
Thanks again Sweet for the info and the knowledge.

P.S. NONE OF YOU should BASE YOUR DECISIONS ON MINE. This is only a choice that I have chose. You use your own good thoughts and educate yourself on what you think is best for you and your family.

I will go straight to my oncologist and ask him due to my blood disorder, if he thinks I should have this shot.

I agree, Lady. We each have to make our own choice on this shot. Our health or lack thereof, is different for each of us. I DO want my little grandson who is in daycare to get it though and so do my son and DIL.

http://www.infowars.com/swine-flu-vaccines-contain-live-h1n1-virus/

I would like Juanita's take on this article.

lindamarie wrote:http://www.infowars.com/swine-flu-vaccines-contain-live-h1n1-virus/

I would like Juanita's take on this article.

Me too, Juanita, what do you think?????
I am a nut I know but I feel people with an immunity problem should start hoarding canned goods,pet foods, frz foods, rx's so that if it does become more aggressive these folks should think about staying out of places like the drug store and grocery. They give u the little wipe to clean your cart...what about the food stuffs a snot nosed kid picks up, his mom says he can't have....now back on the shelf. Or a sick shopper(maybe they just sneezed) holds an item, decides does not want it, puts it on shelf and here comes a weak person, picks up the can....germ city.
The CDC has issued a statement to Dr's/RN's asking that they ask their immune compromised patients to stay out of public places if it gets really bad.There is a list online of items the cdc says to have on hand so u do not have to go out...OTC meds, juices, therm. decong. tylenol; you name it. Emory Univ. in Atlanta has a designated Sick Dorm....everyone w/swine flu stays inside until they are well.... food, etc is brought to them. Keep clean hands at all times....
I even wonder if people should pack Vick's Vapo Rub in their noses before they go out, to keep germs from getting in the nostrils. LOL!! I am kidding on that one, I think!!!!

ok i'll have to get back with you around lunch MST or later (if there is seminar) i have to get in the shower now

Yes, Juanita, please..if you can find the time. Critter has brought up some great questions. I can only speak for myself on this one, but I will be damned if I am going to alter my lifestyle (such as it is) anymore than I already have. We all need to keep wipes and hand sanitizer in our purses. Maybe go into WalMart w/a (full) oxygen tank.

Warped Speed, i think i know where you can borrow an oxygen tank in NJ.

CritterFan1 wrote:Warped Speed, i think i know where you can borrow an oxygen tank in NJ.

Full to the brim?????

Critter, about the public stores: Did you ever have to hold your breath until you exited an aisle in the store because some inconsiderate shopper was hacking it all up without even attempting to cover their mouths? (thus spreading whatever they had into the air for many yards around them?)

Today's paper just reading it: Hospitals are NOT prepared for the onslaught of this flu and are now trying to develop a protocol to treat only those bad enough---those that cannot breathe well, etc., and the big worry is that the flu will fill them up and other people with wounds, heart attacks, and other real emergencies will not get speedy care and perhaps die because of the delay when the hospitals will close the emergency rooms due to the volume of flu cases showing up at those hospitals.

lindamarie wrote:http://www.infowars.com/swine-flu-vaccines-contain-live-h1n1-virus/

I would like Juanita's take on this article.

this is a biased rant about vaccines, not an "article"

yes the live vaccine contains live virus, but keyword "attenuated" = less dangerous. there are many attenuated virus vaccines out there, some are seasonal flu, and obviously this one. the idea is, that the risk associated with the attentuated vaccine is much lower than the risk of no vaccine at all. when they set out to develop a vaccine, their last choice is an attenuated one, and will be used if the usual type dont work.

as for the thimerisol, this is a mercury compound added as a preservative. the idea is that the mercury is at low enough levels to not do any harm. if you think about the fillings in your teeth, there is plenty of mercury in there as well, so to become an informed citizen concerned about your health, you should do more research and not depend on any one opinionated blog writer or even two.

please, dont let this type of news alarm you too much, sometimes people talk about it as if its the first time they sneaked this stuff by everyone. researchers have tested these things on animals and human trials for decades, and there are standard protocols as a result, its not just something BAM lets just poison everyone!! just become properly informed and dont make a conclusion until you are.

going into walmart with an oxygen tank is not going to help you wrap lol

if you want a full facemask, you can buy one, but not an oxygen tank, no.

N95 mouth masks are sufficient. you can buy these at the hardware store, or online. i bought a bunch from kimberly clark, the sales guy was fantastic, and delivery was fast. i recommend this company.

:thanks: I know your having struggles of your own right now and for you to take the time to help us the way you do is a wonderful thing.

Juanita thanks for your informative take on that link. That was my first instinct about it, thats why I didn't post the article, but I was NOT sure though. It can really get confusing with a lot of MISinformation out there. Terryrose posed a question about whether it was a live virus or not and this was the only thing I could find.

thx juanita for your excellent info!!!!! Are you getting the vaccine???? Do you mind my asking? Dr. Oz on the View today said he would only get the basic flu shot...not the swine flu one, or something about the two different vaccines.... I may have not heard right.

You're kidding!---Dr. Oz won't get the Swine flu shot? He is young enough to be at risk and, as a member of the medical community advising the country on national TV, I am shocked that he would say this. Does anyone know more of what he said on The View about this?---please post it.

I will take my chances with the flu I think. Just the basic for me this year. Katie I am on the fence about. I will leave her to her trusty Dr. It is time for her 4 YR OLD check up. My plan with my Mom is to keep her out of grocery and pharmacy stores. She is only getting the regular season flu shots. Katie is high risk and my Mom is low. I think that puts me some where in the middle.
;)
Laga I am with you. I don't want to take any chances.

I apologize for my memory of the facts in the post above regarding the polio vaccine trials. The number of deaths of children in the clinical trials was only 10, but the number of polio cases that were caused by the vaccine was 260 in the first trials which were conducted on little children. It was a disaster. To me the history of vaccines is important for all to know. We have come out of a long era of hushed up silence in regard to vaccines causing side effects, deaths, and illness. Knowing about these things just helps to make more informed choices on the part of the patient and the public and we can weigh benefit versus risk in our individual cases. That is why I post what I know of the history of such things. I will edit my above post to show the accurate facts and will paste here the link to the story of the development of that particular vaccine: http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/CC/polio.php

PS to Wrap----I worry for you here. Please read down the page on this vaccine because of your having a new grandbaby. As I have stated elsewhere, immune-compromised senior adults should avoid contact when the baby gets the live oral polio vaccines because our immunity from our childhood vaccinations and the one we got in the 1960s has worn off and we could get polio from contact with their bodily fluids for a period of time following the baby's ingestion of live oral vaccine.

I can't find the Dr. Oz segment on The View unless you want to watch the entire thing as he is on at the end. He said for healthy people, just get the regular flu shot and the key is to take 1000 mg. of vitamin D per day. He did not say WHICH type of Vitamin D. He didn't have much time to really talk due to Kate Goeslin and Victoria Bechham on today. I would have preferred an hour of him instead.

He now has his own talk show and I believe will be discussing this more length.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/09/14/dr-oz-show-oprah-premieres/

Oh, Terry Rose. The thanks for letting me know. The last thing I want to do is stay away from my little Quinn..but if I have to, I have to!!

let me put it this way, if you eat fish more than once a week, your murcury levels will be higher than recommended

Dr. Oz's show is on right now and he is talking in depth about the Swine Flu. 9AM CST - on Fox.

According to Dr. Oz - Swine Flue Timeline

Day 0-2 No Symptoms
Day 3 - Body Aches & Pains
Day 4 -6 Cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrrihea,
Day 7 - 10 Feel Better or Develop Breathing Problems. If the latter, see doc immediately (p.s. I personally would not wait that long to go).

Make sure you are hydrated, wear a mask.

See a doc or ER immeditately if you have the following:

Difficulty breathing
Dizziness and Confusion
Vomiting.
Dr. Oz says it is possible that your BP is low.

Kids:
Bluish of grey color
Child gets better but then gets worse again.
Child not easy to wake up.

Vaccine: One dose of vaccine - takes about 2 weeks for the high titers of vaccince that really protect you. Key point..Don't wait. Get in and get it. Dr. Oz says he is not concerned about people w/surpressed immunities as is Guillene Barrett that causes a temporary paralysis. 25 out of 100,000 kids now could contract it.

Who needs this vacine:

Pregnant women, health care workers, parents of children under 6 months, people between 6 months and 24 years of age, adults from 18 - 65 years with chronic diseases. In essence, 50 million people, then..you wait 2 weeks to see if you have it.

Five items to keep in your house:

1. Cleaners: Soap and water, alcohol cleansers, wipes,
2. Probiotics and prebiotics: Garlic and onions, yogurts,
3. Supplements: Vitamin D, North American Ginseng.
4. Emergency: electrolytye replacements, acedomepnahine, surgical mask, monthly supply of tea, foods and pharmecuticals.
5. Seasonal Flu Shot - everyone!

http://www.doctoroz.com/

Juanita wrote:let me put it this way, if you eat fish more than once a week, your murcury levels will be higher than recommended

I eat a lot of tuna and salmon cause I think it is better for us than red meat or pork. Should we all eat just chicken and veggies instead??

FDA approves new swine flu vaccine

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard, Ap Medical Writer – Tue Sep 15, 5:17 pm ET

WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration approved the new swine flu vaccine Tuesday, a long-anticipated step as the government works to start mass vaccinations next month. Limited supplies should start trickling out the first week of October — about a week earlier than expected, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told Congress. Then about 45 million doses should arrive around Oct. 15, followed by more shipments each week.

She said they'll be available at up to 90,000 sites, including schools and clinics, across the U.S. that state health departments have chosen as best at getting the shots out fast.

Eventually, "we will have enough vaccine available for everyone," Sebelius said. Everyone who wants it, that is.

The government has ordered 195 million doses but may order more if there's enough demand, she said. Typically fewer than 100 million Americans seek flu vaccine every year, and it's unclear whether swine flu — what scientists prefer to call the 2009 H1N1 strain — will prompt much more demand. A recent Associated Press-GfK poll found 57 percent of people said they were likely to get it.

This year is unusual: Many people will have to line up twice for flu vaccine, once to be inoculated against regular winter flu and a second time for an H1N1 vaccination.

The new swine flu seems no more deadly than regular winter flu, which every year kills 36,000 Americans and hospitalizes 200,000. But there's an important difference: This H1N1 strain sickens younger people more frequently than the people over 65 who are the main victims of seasonal flu.

So the government wants certain people in line first for the H1N1 vaccinations: Pregnant women; the young, from age 6 months up through age 24; and people younger than 65 who have flu-risky conditions such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease; caregivers of the at-risk, including newborns; and health workers.

The vast majority of people who get swine flu "so far are not terribly ill," Sebelius noted, saying most will recover fine at home with some rest and fluids. And they shouldn't race to doctors' offices seeking tests to find out what kind of flu they have — H1N1 or the regular strains that circulate every winter — because treatment is the same.

"The flu is the flu is the flu right now," Sebelius said.

Nor should doctors hand out prescriptions for anti-flu medicines to be used to prevent flu, she added, because "it could make them sicker in the long run."

The drugs Tamiflu and Relenza should be used for treatment only, she stressed.

Sebelius announced the FDA's approval of vaccine made by four of the expected five manufacturers: CSL Ltd. of Australia, Switzerland's Novartis Vaccines, Sanofi Pasteur of France — which produces flu shots at its Swiftwater, Pa., factory — and Maryland-based MedImmune LLC, which makes the only nasal-spray flu vaccine.

London-based GlaxoSmithKline also was expected to supply vaccine. Sebelius said only that a fifth manufacturer's vaccine was expected to be approved soon, pending some final steps.

Getting licensing from the FDA means that the vaccine is made properly and meets specific manufacturing and quality standards.

What's the right dose? Figuring that out is the job of the National Institutes of Health, which last week announced studies showing that one dose appears to protect adults — and that protection kicks in just eight to 10 days after the shot, faster than scientists had predicted.

Studies in children and pregnant women are continuing to settle on the right dose for those populations.

The H1N1 vaccine seems just as safe as the long-used regular flu vaccine, the FDA said, not a surprise as it's made the same way. Side effects include soreness or redness at the injection site, and some fever.

The government will keep a sharp eye for any very rare side effects. The last mass vaccination against a different swine flu, in 1976, was marred by reports of the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome; scientists never proved whether that link was real or coincidence.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090915/ap_on_he_me/us_med_swine_flu_7

Wrap, it is said that the Albacore Tuna has more mercury concentration than the chunk light tuna. I used to prefer the white albacore until I found that out.

I have to be honest I've stayed away from this thread b/c I tend to be a worrier. But flu season is upon us, so... I've had the flu and it is not pretty. Since then I've gotten the flu shot every yr. w/out problems. My husband and kids all get it also. The problem for me w/ the swine flu is there really has not been much safety testing done on it yet, as time is a factor. We were out to dinner the other eve w/ a surgeon and his wife. He said that he will prob. not get it. Tough decision. I will have my 4 kids get it, b/c children seem to be at higher risk, and I would never forgive myself if they got sick, and I could have prevented it. I will prob. end up getting it, if only to help protect my mom, she would never get it, and her health is frail. Risks vs. benefits.

educate yourself on the flu
........ be so sure to educate yourself on what the vaccine is actually made of----- read everything and base your opinion then.
read everything that you can think of and then make a decision that you know is best for you and the ones your love.

LJ

Wrapitup wrote:

Juanita wrote:let me put it this way, if you eat fish more than once a week, your murcury levels will be higher than recommended

I eat a lot of tuna and salmon cause I think it is better for us than red meat or pork. Should we all eat just chicken and veggies instead??

fish is good for you yes, but the mercury is not. you have several choices for protein sources:

turkey
chicken
pork
tofu
beans - garbanzo, pinto, black beans, lima beans, etc.
sprouts
cheese - feta, cheddar, swiss, mozerrella

that will fill up a weeks menu until you can get back to fish!

i forgot, buffalo meat is leaner than beef too

Juanita wrote:

Wrapitup wrote:

Juanita wrote:let me put it this way, if you eat fish more than once a week, your murcury levels will be higher than recommended

I eat a lot of tuna and salmon cause I think it is better for us than red meat or pork. Should we all eat just chicken and veggies instead??

fish is good for you yes, but the mercury is not. you have several choices for protein sources:

turkey
chicken
pork
tofu
beans - garbanzo, pinto, black beans, lima beans, etc.
sprouts
cheese - feta, cheddar, swiss, mozerrella

that will fill up a weeks menu until you can get back to fish!

All things I LOVE..sans the buffalo meat...not something I see in stores and so far, have seen none roaming around out here..could never hurt an animal anyway..but thanks for the tip!!

I would rather take fish oil than eat fish. Yucky.

Juanita wrote:i forgot, buffalo meat is leaner than beef too

and venison....... very healthy.

Critter, I can't bring myself to eat "Bambi". :lol!:

TerryRose wrote:Critter, I can't bring myself to eat "Bambi". :lol!:

If you really knew what was in your beef, chicken, pork, etc., (at the average market) you might change your mind or go veggie.

(I am not beating up on you, I use to be the same way)

I might go veggie.
Exercise

No Bambi, Buffalo, Dove, Duck. Cannot do it.

For me..veggies (spinach, turnip greens, onions) tuna, salmon, boneless skinless chicken breasts, turkey, yogurt, avocado, garbanzo beans, rice, garlic, green chili, pasta, sushi.

Bad things I LOVE: real butter..sour cream..ice cream..pop corn, bread!!!

It's time to get the first of at least two flu shots recommended for many Americans this fall: Vaccine against regular winter flu is ready.

Despite all the headlines about the new swine flu, doctors do expect some garden-variety influenza to hit this fall, too. And health authorities on Thursday urged people to go ahead and get that first inoculation out of the way before the lines start forming for swine flu vaccine next month.

"The single best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against the flu is to get vaccinated," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Yes, swine flu right now is the world's dominant strain of influenza.

But "we must not let our guard down against seasonal influenza," said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University, president-elect of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

More than 110 million doses of vaccine against regular winter flu are expected this year, according to a new estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's not quite as much as last fall's record supply. But typically fewer than 100 million Americans seek flu vaccine, even though it's recommended for the vast majority of the population, including:

_Adults 50 and older.

_All children ages 6 months to 18 years.

_Pregnant women.

_People of any age with chronic health problems like asthma, heart disease or a weakened immune system.

_Health workers.

_Caregivers of the high-risk, including babies younger than 6 months.

Don't like shots? There's a nasal-spray version of the vaccine, called FluMist, available for people ages 2 to 49.

Typical influenza is most dangerous to people 65 and older — they account for 90 percent of the usual 36,000 flu deaths in this country every year. But children are flu's prime spreaders, often taking it home to parents and grandparents — and between 80 and 100 U.S. children die from regular flu every year.

Now comes the confusing part.

The new swine flu, what scientists formally call the 2009 H1N1 strain, isn't hitting older adults nearly as hard — but it's spreading rapidly among children and young adults, and deaths so far have been mostly among people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

The regular flu vaccine won't protect you against swine flu — that will require a separate inoculation once that vaccine starts arriving in mid-October. And many of the same groups who most need regular flu vaccine are on the priority list to be first in line for swine flu vaccine:

_Pregnant women.

_Children starting at age 6 months, up through young adulthood, age 24.

_Health workers.

_Younger adults with risky health conditions.

Stay tuned: Still to be determined is whether it will take one dose or two of the swine flu vaccine to protect against the new virus.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090910/ap_on_he_me/us_med_swine_flu_1

Seasonal Cold or Swine Flu? Moms Face Tough Calls

– A woman is given a shot during trials of an H1N1 vaccine, developed by CSL of Australia, at the University … By Deborah Kotz Deborah Kotz – Mon Sep 21, 3:11 pm ET
I sent my 11-year-old son to school today with a stuffy nose and mild cough, as I've done countless times in the past. Now, though, I'm wondering whether I should have kept him home. How do I know it's really a garden-variety cold and not the swine flu?


"That's a great question," says Richard Wenzel, a swine flu expert and former president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. "You really have no way of knowing if it's the flu or just a cold." Given that we're in the middle of an H1N1 epidemic, he estimates that my son's chances of having this flu are considerable, since some of his friends have had confirmed cases--maybe even as high as 50/50. Even though he doesn't have fever? I press. "At the beginning of the outbreak in Mexico, only 30 percent of patients hospitalized with the infection had fever initially," he tells me, "and 15 percent of patients never developed a fever at all." What usually sent them to the hospital was shortness of breath or chest pain. In Chile, he adds, about half of those with confirmed H1N1 had no fever; many just had a headache and runny nose.


To truly contain the spread of this virus, he says, it would have been smart for me to keep my son home from school. While I can work effectively from home, many working parents can't. I wonder if this is why the government isn't recommending that we keep ourselves or our kids home at the first sign of a sniffle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says: "Those with flulike illness should stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever, or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicines." That implies that hacking coughs and runny noses shouldn't keep us away from others.


"The CDC is stuck. They've defined flu as having a fever, which means they're going to miss a lot of cases," Wenzel says. To be fair, the CDC does list the following as symptoms of H1N1: cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue, and, in some people, diarrhea and vomiting. But fever seems to be the determining factor in whether we should isolate ourselves.


Since most doctors aren't testing for H1N1, we must use our own judgment to decide if that mild cold warrants taking sick days and keeping our kids home from school for up to a week. We might be helping prevent the spread of a potentially deadly virus. Then again, it might be pointless if others are going about their usual day coughing and sneezing around others. (Hopefully, they're washing their hands frequently and coughing into their elbows.) After speaking with Wenzel, I might keep my son home tomorrow--especially if his symptoms get worse.


"This flu seems to spread more easily than a cold virus or seasonal flu," says Wenzel, "most likely because so few people have been exposed to it in the past." Kids are slated to be among the first to get the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available in early October--a nasal spray vaccine called FluMist will the first on the market. But many will probably already have been infected before they can get immunized; Wenzel predicts the outbreak will last another four to eight weeks before tapering off. Unfortunately, that's just around the time when the vaccine will be available in large quantities. It seems that despite the government's best efforts to get the vaccine out quickly, it missed the boat on this one.


Yes, the CDC will still stick with its recommendation to get any children over the age of 6 months vaccinated--and pregnant women too--unless a previous infection was confirmed via a lab test. But Wenzel says parents may decide on their own to pass up the immunization if their child recently had a respiratory infection that appeared to be swine flu. "These kids probably don't need the vaccine," he adds, "but there's a level of uncertainty, and parents may still be wise to choose immunization just to be on the safe side."


While most cases of H1N1 are mild, this virus has the potential to cause severe complications, including death. The CDC says warning signs in children that warrant immediate medical attention include fast breathing or trouble breathing; bluish or gray skin color; not drinking enough fluids; severe or persistent vomiting; not waking up or interacting; a child so irritable that he does not want to be held; and flulike symptoms that improve but then return with fever and a worse cough. Warning signs in adults include difficulty breathing or chest pain, purple or blue discoloration of the lips, vomiting and inability to keep liquids down, and signs of dehydration, such as feeling dizzy when standing or being unable to urinate.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20090921/ts_usnews/seasonalcoldorswineflumomsfacetoughcalls

Intense tracking for swine flu shot's side effects
By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard, Ap Medical Writer – Sun Sep 27, 3:27 pm ET
WASHINGTON – More than 3,000 people a day have a heart attack. If you're one of them the day after your swine flu shot, will you worry the vaccine was to blame and not the more likely culprit, all those burgers and fries?

The government is starting an unprecedented system to track possible side effects as mass flu vaccinations begin next month. The idea is to detect any rare but real problems quickly, and explain the inevitable coincidences that are sure to cause some false alarms.

"Every day, bad things happen to people. When you vaccinate a lot of people in a short period of time, some of those things are going to happen to some people by chance alone," said Dr. Daniel Salmon, a vaccine safety specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Health authorities hope to vaccinate well over half the population in just a few months against swine flu, which doctors call the 2009 H1N1 strain. That would be a feat. No more than 100 million Americans usually get vaccinated against regular winter flu, and never in such a short period.

How many will race for the vaccine depends partly on confidence in its safety. The last mass inoculations against a different swine flu, in 1976, were marred by reports of a rare paralyzing condition, Guillain-Barre syndrome.

"The recurring question is, 'How do we know it's safe?'" said Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic.

Enter the intense new monitoring. On top of routine vaccine tracking, there are these government-sponsored projects:

_Harvard Medical School scientists are linking large insurance databases that cover up to 50 million people with vaccination registries around the country for real-time checks of whether people see a doctor in the weeks after a flu shot and why. The huge numbers make it possible to quickly compare rates of complaints among the vaccinated and unvaccinated, said the project leader, Dr. Richard Platt, Harvard's population medicine chief.

_Johns Hopkins University will direct e-mails to at least 100,000 vaccine recipients to track how they're feeling, including the smaller complaints that wouldn't prompt a doctor visit. If anything seems connected, researchers can call to follow up with detailed questions.

_The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing take-home cards that tell vaccine recipients how to report any suspected side effects to the nation's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting system.

"We don't have any reason to expect any unusual problems with this vaccine," said Dr. Neal Halsey, director of Hopkins' Institute for Vaccine Safety, who is directing the e-mail surveillance.

After all, the new H1N1 vaccine is a mere recipe change from the regular winter flu shot that's been used for decades in hundreds of millions of people without serious problems. Nor have there been any red flags in the few thousand people given test doses in studies to determine the right H1N1 dose. They've gotten the same sore arms and occasional headache or fever that's par for a winter flu shot.

But because this H1N1 flu targets the young more than the old, this may be the year that unprecedented numbers of children and pregnant women are vaccinated.

Then there's the glare of the Internet — where someone merely declaring on Facebook that he's sure the shot did harm could cause a wave of similar reports. Health authorities will have to tell quickly if there really do seem to be more cases of a particular health problem than usual.

So the CDC is racing to compile a list of what's normal: 25,000 heart attacks every week; 14,000 to 19,000 miscarriages every week; 300 severe allergic reactions called anaphylaxis every week.

Any spike would mean fast checking to see if the vaccine really seems to increase risk and by how much, so health officials could issue appropriate warnings.

Very rare side effects by definition could come to light only after large-scale inoculations begin — making this the year scientists may finally learn if flu vaccine truly is linked to Guillain-Barre, an often reversible but sometimes fatal paralysis. It's believed to strike between 1 and 2 of every 100,000 people. It often occurs right after another infection, such as food poisoning or even influenza.

But the vaccine concern stems from 1976, when 500 cases were reported among the 45 million people vaccinated against that year's swine flu. Scientists never could prove if the vaccine really caused the extra risk. The CDC maintains that if the regular winter flu vaccine is related, the risk is no more than a single case per million vaccinated.

So the question becomes, Is the risk of disease greater than that?

Mayo's Poland cites a study in Chicago that found the rate of preschoolers being hospitalized for the new H1N1 flu last spring was 2 1/2 times higher than that possible Guillain-Barre risk.

However the flu season turns out, the extra vaccine tracking promises a lasting impact.

"Part of what we hope is that it will teach us something about how to monitor the safety of all medical products quickly," said Harvard's Platt.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_med_swine_flu_side_effects

Wrap, very interesting article you posted above---. Sounds good to me that they will be monitoring for side effects promptly. One thing I heard recently, if you have immunity problems, you are better off waiting until the shots arrive. The first being released (in our area at least) is the live virus nasal mist, which they say is more risky for the immune- compromised than is the shot being released later.

Leading the News
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Government plans to track possible H1N1 vaccine side effects.
The AP (9/28, Neergaard) reports that the "government is starting an unprecedented system to track possible side effects as mass flu vaccinations begin next month." Officials hope "to detect any rare but real problems quickly, and explain the inevitable coincidences that are sure to cause some false alarms." HHS vaccine safety specialist Dr. Daniel Salmon explained, "Every day, bad things happen to people. When you vaccinate a lot of people in a short period of time, some of those things are going to happen to some people by chance alone." The CDC will distribute "take-home cards that tell vaccine recipients how to report any suspected side effects," and the government is also sponsoring a Harvard project linking insurance databases to vaccination registries, while Johns Hopkins will track 100,000 vaccine recipients via email.

Officials say adverse health events will occur for H1N1 vaccine recipients. The New York Times (9/28, A1, McNeil) reports on its front page that health officials are warning that inevitable events like heart attacks, strokes, or miscarriages in pregnant women will almost certainly occur in people who have received the swine flu vaccine, but that the events should be viewed by the public as "coincidental" and not deter anyone from receiving the vaccine. Officials are "particularly worried about spontaneous miscarriages, because they are urging pregnant women to be among the first to be vaccinated."

Frieden anticipates "bumpy" start to H1N1 vaccination rollout. ABC World News (9/25, story 7, 2:05 Sawyer) reported, "Federal health officials began [Friday] to give out some detailed information on the rollout of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. The first doses heading to 90,000 locations across the country." NBC Nightly News (9/25, story 6, 1:55, Curry) reported, "Where it becomes available and how fast could be an issue, at least in the early going." NBC's Bazell added, "The Center for Disease Control is anticipating problems when the first small amounts of the swine flu vaccine become available in the next few weeks." CDC Director Thomas Frieden said, "It's going to be a little bumpy, because in different states, there will be different levels of preparedness and readiness and planning. There will undoubtedly be places where people want to get vaccinated and can't."

The New York Times (9/26, A11, McNeil) reported that the "first doses should reach doctors by Oct. 6," Frieden said, "but almost all will be the FluMist nasal spray version, which has some limits on who may use it. By mid-October, 40 million doses of both the nasal spray and injectable versions should be out."

USA Today (9/26, Weise, Sternberg) noted that the "government has purchased a total of 250 million doses of vaccine from five makers." The "vaccine will go to four distribution centers owned by the healthcare service company McKesson." HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that the "vaccine will be shipped to roughly 90,000 vaccination sites at hospitals, clinics, public health departments, schools, pharmacies and stores nationwide."

Hospitals, schools deal with second swine flu surge. The Washington Post (9/27, Stein) reported the "second wave of the swine flu pandemic is starting to be felt around the country, as doctors, health clinics, hospitals, and schools are reporting rapidly increasing numbers of patients experiencing flu symptoms." In fact, hospitals are said to have been hit with an unprecedented number of flu cases for this time of year, although, "so far most cases are mild."

Predictions of swine flu deaths seen as not certain. The Boston Globe (9/28, Smith) reports that while the government has examined several scenarios for how a resurgent swine flu virus could affect the American public, the "truth is that disease trackers cannot predict precisely how lethal any flu strain will turn out to be." Not only are the predictions difficult, establishing how many deaths are attributable to the virus is also difficult. Dr. David Ozonoff of the Boston University School of Public Health said people "die of heart attacks and pneumonias and so on who wouldn't have died if they hadn't been infected with influenza." Similarly, Marc Lipsitch, a Harvard School of Public Health epidemiologist, said the official death toll of swine flu so far of 1,600 "is certainly an underestimate."

WHO reports only 28 cases of Tamiflu resistance. The AP (9/28) reports the World Health Organization "says 28 swine flu patients worldwide had viruses resistant to Tamiflu, but another antiviral still worked." There have also been cases of resistance to Tamiflu in people who took the drug preventively in order to not get sick.

From ATS
Ventilator Survey

As part of emergency preparedness, the Department of Health and Human Services has asked the American Association for Respiratory Care to collect data on the number of mechanical ventilators. ATS members can participate in this important survey, which protects the privacy of the data, by going to the AARC's Web site: www.aarc.org/nvs.

New test may rapidly identify active TB in patients with negative sputum results, trial indicates.
HealthDay (9/25, Preidt) reported that a paper published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reveals that a "new test can rapidly identify active tuberculosis in people who've had negative sputum tests." At present, "testing can take several weeks to get results, according to background information in the news release" from the American Thoracic Society. But, "an ELISpot test detects active TB by comparing the frequencies of TB-specific T-lymphocytes in the blood with those in the lung, with results in a day."

Clinical Care
Some asthma sufferers say new inhalers not as effective.
The Chicago Tribune (9/27, Shelton) reported that "months after a federal ban went into effect outlawing a propellant used in most rescue inhalers, some asthma sufferers insist that the replacement inhalers don't work and might even be harmful." One FDA spokeswoman "said the agency has received more than 500 complaints about HFA inhalers, many of them about the ethanol." Meanwhile, according to one pulmonologist, "The less forceful spray makes many users believe that the inhalers are not working."

Research
Research on parasitic worms may help scientists develop new asthma, allergy treatments.
BBC News (9/26) reported, "Infection with hookworm and other parasitic worms is endemic in Vietnam, but rates of asthma and other allergies are low." Indeed, alongside improvements in hygiene, "practices parasitic worms have been mostly eradicated among human populations." But, "experts believe that over millions of years of co-evolution worms have found methods to dampen down host immune responses to prolong their own survival inside humans. This relationship seems to have become so intertwined that without gut worms or other parasites, our immune system can become unbalanced, which, in turn, could contribute to the development of asthma and other allergies." This phenomenon, said UK scientists, may help them figure out how to develop "new treatments for asthma and other allergies."

Regulatory news
Some experts say fruit-flavored cigarette ban should include mentholated smokes.
USA Today (9/28, Rubin) reports, "The Food and Drug Administration may have banned candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes Tuesday, but some public health experts still see a big hole in their efforts to keep teens from starting to smoke" -- mentholated smokes. "Although teen smoking overall has declined, the proportion who smoke menthol cigarettes is rising -- 17.5 percent from 2000 to 2002." And, nearly "44 percent of smokers ages 12 to 17 use menthol cigarettes." What's more, there's research which suggests that "young menthol smokers are more likely to be addicted to nicotine than their peers who smoke non-menthol cigarettes." Experts also pointed out that "any proposed legislation should consider the special problems of menthol and its relationship to high cigarette consumption, especially for African-American adolescents."

FDA urged to ban menthol cigarettes. In a Boston Globe (9/26) op-ed, Derrick Jackson wrote, "It was a good first step by the Food and Drug Administration to ban candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes." But, "Menthol Madness" must also be ended, especially considering that it "is by far the most prominent cigarette flavoring of all." Apparently, menthol went unchecked, because the "tobacco lobby and political allies bemoaned the impact of a...ban on jobs and government coffers." The "menthol exemption also leaves dangling in political midair explosive charges of racism," as "menthol cigarettes are vastly disproportionately popular among African-Americans." The FDA, however, "can still ban menthol. Public health-minded politicians negotiated an explicit provision in the prevention act that commits the FDA to study menthol within one year," and "any serious study should clearly result in a ban."

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Columnist calls for increased FDA regulation of generics.
In a column in the San Francisco Chronicle (9/28), Phil Bronstein writes that some psychiatrists have "found in the last few months that a number of their patients on newer generic versions of" psychotropic drugs had "regressive episodes of anxiety [and] insomnia." In some cases, however, when patients "were switched from generics back to the brand names, their symptoms went away." Bronstein notes, "The Food and Drug Administration, which does the monitoring, has a lot more work to do as generics manufacturers proliferate around the world." But, agency spokeswoman Sandy Walsh said that "the notion of a measurable difference between the originals and generics is 'a big myth.'" Still, according to Professor Alan Schatzberg, head of Stanford's psychiatry department, "The agency 'doesn't require the same efficacy' from a generic drug as it does from a brand name." Bronstein concludes, "The FDA needs to amp up its vigilance" of generics.

General Medical News


Physician says smoking may worsen psychiatric illnesses.
A health column in Indiana's News-Sentinel (9/28, Boen) interviewed psychiatrist Eric Heiligenstein, MD, of the University of Wisconsin's University Health Services in Madison, who "has made nicotine's effects on people with mental-health or addictive disorders a major focus of research and advocacy." Dr. Heiligenstein pointed out that "22 percent of adults have a psychiatric disorder, yet they consume 45 percent of cigarettes smoked in the US." Moreover, "the number of diagnosed psychiatric disorders a person has correlates significantly with nicotine usage." According to Dr. Heiligenstein, "smoking worsens psychiatric illnesses, he said, but lack of education on that -- along with lack of funding for cessation programs and interventions -- magnifies the problem." Unfortunately, "the average medical student gets one to two hours of smoking cessation-related education over four years. And psychiatrists get only one."

Columnist proposes ways to increase supply of organs for transplant.
In the New York Times (9/27, BU6, Thaler) Economic View column, Richard H. Thaler observed, "More than 20,000 organ transplants take place every year in the" US, "with a vast majority coming from deceased donors." But, because "demand greatly exceeds supply," Thaler argued that "it is important to obtain donors from another possible source: patients who have been declared 'brain dead,' but are being kept alive temporarily." Some "European countries" harvest organs under "an 'opt out' rule, often called "presumed consent," in which citizens are presumed to be consenting donors unless they act to register their unwillingness." In Illinois, where Thaler resides, there is "'mandated choice,' under which people must indicate their preference" regarding organ donation when renewing their driver's licenses, with their answers being "legally binding" under the state's "First-Person Consent Law."

Author urges readers to become organ donors. In an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times (9/28), Reg Green, the author of The Nicholas Effect and The Gift That Heals, wrote, "Fifteen years ago, during a family vacation in southern Italy, my seven-year-old son, Nicholas, died after being shot in a botched robbery." The Greens made the decision to "donate his organs and corneas to seven very sick Italians," a decision which so moved the Italians that "the rates of organ donation in Italy have more than quadrupled since his death, going from 4.2 per million inhabitants in 1994 to 18 per million last year. As a result, thousands of people are alive who would have died, and every year hundreds more are saved." Green urges readers to become organ donors and to tell their families of that decision.

Data indicate more than half million children may have adverse drug reactions every year.
The AP (9/28, Tanner) reports, "More than half a million US children yearly have bad reactions or side effects from widely used medicines that require medical treatment and sometimes hospitalization," according to data appearing in Pediatrics. Investigators at Children's Hospital in Boston combed through "national statistics on patients' visits to clinics and emergency rooms between 1995 and 2005," finding that the "number of children treated for bad drug reactions each year was mostly stable during that time, averaging 585,922." Yet, "children younger than five accounted for 43 percent of visits to clinics and emergency rooms; followed by teens aged 15 to 18, who made up about 23 percent of the visits." Apparently, "penicillin and other prescription antibiotics are among drugs causing the most problems, including rashes, stomachaches, and diarrhea."

Law and Policy


Senate Finance panel ended week without resolving major health reform issues.
The New York Times (9/26, A12, Pear, Herszenhorn) reported that Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee "preserved the guts of their proposal to reinvent the healthcare system, but Republicans scored political points on several issues, like the effects of the bill on older Americans." The committee ended its work for last week by putting off "some of the most contentious issues to next week." Roll Call (9/25, Drucker, subscription required) noted that this week "could see some spirited debate," as Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) "are planning to propose an amendment to add a public insurance option" to Chairman Max Baucus' proposal.

The New York Times (9/26, A12, Calmes) reported that while Finance Committee Democrats "have largely stood up to Republicans' attacks" on the Baucus bill, their "united front has given way to intraparty tensions, not just in the committee but in Congress generally." Sen. Schumer and other public option supporters "do not expect to win in the moderate-to-conservative-leaning committee." But Schumer said, "That's just the first battle of a war, and the least friendly battlefield."

The Washington Post (9/26, Connolly) reported that the fight over healthcare "is increasingly shifting away" from the committee "and onto the Senate floor," where other senators "are already scheming about how to put their stamp on what could be the most significant piece of domestic-policy legislation in a generation." The Hill (9/25, Young) and CQ Weekly (9/28, Armstrong, Wayne) also covered the story.

Also in the News
Flu absences shutter LA emergency department.
The AP (9/26) reports, "A Los Angeles hospital emergency [department] has been closed for a week because of understaffing after several nurses became sick with the flu."

According to the Los Angeles Times (9/26, Hennessy-Fiske) "Booster Shots" blog, the "Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center...voluntarily closed its four-bed emergency [department] Sept. 18 after a surprise visit by state health inspectors, who found two of three emergency room nurses were out sick." The "213-bed hospital has a staff of 700, but has few nurses trained to work in the emergency" department.

oops i pasted way more than H1N1, well enjoy the reading.

This is such crap how are we suppose to know if we have the flu or HINI? Kate and I go to the Dr today. I am pretty sure I have pneumonia. I have tons of allergies to antibiotics. So the one I have been on since last Monday the bacteria must be resistant to. I am praying they don't admit to the hospital for IV antibiotics. If you all don't hear from me that is exactly what happened. Kate and I did not run a fever until the infection set in which was about 3 to 5 days after the sore throat and cough set in. So how do we know when we should stay home. I can't stay home all darn winter long. I will lose my job.

Lindamarie: for the flu: stay home at least 24 hrs. after fever has ended. Re: Swine flu, they are saying that you are still contagious until your cough has subsided. It seems to be a more virulent strain. This could indeed impact the workplace and thus the economy.
Per my Pediatrician: 1/100 cases will be severe. The others will be mild.

If that is the case I have been spreading it around for about 4 weeks. I just wish I knew if that is what we had/have. Katie would not have to risk or endure the shot if she has already had the virus.

lindamarie wrote:If that is the case I have been spreading it around for about 4 weeks. I just wish I knew if that is what we had/have. Katie would not have to risk or endure the shot if she has already had the virus.

lv and prayers.
lj

P.S. for everyone, read about vitamin d.