Buckwheat's Epidemic - Swine Flu Worse, Spreading Faster, Vaccine Short and Late
- From: Patriot Games <Patriot@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:10:13 -0400
http://mobile.reuters.com/mobile/m/FullArticle/CTOP/ntopNews_uUSTRE5984RT20091009
H1N1 flu taking off in U.S., officials say
Fri, Oct 09 2009
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new pandemic of swine flu has killed 76
children in the United States since it emerged in April and is
worsening, U.S. health officials said on Friday.
But researchers are reporting some good news about vaccines that may
smooth efforts to immunize people against the pandemic flu and
ordinary flu at the same time.
Although it is not quite at epidemic levels yet, H1N1 is spreading in
many states at a time when normally there is little or no influenza,
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Several studies reported this week show that most people, including
children, who die from swine flu have underlying conditions making
them more susceptible, but some who are healthy are also dying, the
CDC said.
"We saw a peak of pediatric deaths starting in April, May, June," the
CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat told reporters in a telephone briefing. "It's
starting to shoot up again."
The 76 deaths compare to 68 deaths from seasonal influenza from
September 2008 to April 2009, the CDC said. Many of the children who
have died had neurological conditions such as muscular dystrophy or
cerebral palsy, the CDC said.
The CDC is trying to roll out vaccines against swine flu at the same
time as an usually early campaign of vaccinating against seasonal
influenza.
Officials predicted some bumps in the road and there have been some,
with some counties suspending seasonal vaccination to make room for
H1N1 vaccines.
But a new report suggests it may be easier to do this. Trials show
that giving an H1N1 shot at the same time as a seasonal influenza shot
causes no problems and people are fully protected, said Dr. Anthony
Fauci of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases.
Early results from trials of adults show those who got both shots at
the same time had good immune responses to the vaccine, Fauci told the
briefing.
The CDC said 6.8 million doses of H1N1 influenza vaccine were now
available for states to order -- much of it AstraZeneca unit
MedImmune's nasal spray vaccine, which is approved for healthy people
aged 2 to 49.
States have placed orders for 3.7 million doses. Orders are placed
only when there are hard and fast plans for administering the vaccine.
Many states are vaccinating either healthcare workers or children
first against H1N1 -- both are in the CDC-designated "priority groups"
for vaccine.
Schuchat said some doctors wrongly believed that healthcare workers
should not get the nasal spray but only those working with severely
immune system-compromised patients, such as those getting bone marrow
transplants, should avoid it, she said.
CDC officials also expect 114 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine
within the coming weeks. "More than 77 million doses have gone out and
more is on the way. Manufacturers have readjusted their timelines for
delivery of seasonal flu vaccine due to production of 2009 H1N1
vaccine," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said by email.
"It will take several weeks to get the full supply going," Schuchat
added.
CDC monitoring shows that 6.1 percent of all deaths in the last week
of September were due to pneumonia and influenza -- just below the
threshold for an epidemic, which is 6.4 percent of deaths. More than
99 percent of confirmed flu cases are the new pandemic H1N1 virus.
.
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