Preparing For Flu Season
By Fred Cicetti
September 17, 2009
Flu season in the northern hemisphere can range from as early as November to as late as May. The peak month usually is February.
However, this coming season is expected to be unpredictable because of the emergence of the H1N1 influenza virus or swine flu. The H1N1 has caused the first global outbreak—pandemic—of influenza in more than four decades.
There is concern that the 2009 H1N1 virus may make the season worse than a regular flu season. It is feared that there will be many more hospitalizations and fatalities this season. The 2009 H1N1 virus caused illness in the U.S. during the summer months when influenza is very uncommon.
The 2009-10 flu vaccine protects against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season. The seasonal vaccine is not expected to protect against the 2009 H1N1 virus. A vaccine for 2009 H1N1 is being produced and may be ready for the public in the fall.
The 2009-10 vaccine can be administered anytime during flu season. However, the best time to get inoculated is between October and November. The protection provided by the vaccine lasts about a year. Adults over 50 are prime candidates for the vaccine because the flu can be fatal for people in this age group.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that up to 20 percent of the population gets the flu each year.
The CDC reports vaccination rates are better for those over 65. About 7 in 10 seniors get their flu shots. You can get the flu vaccine from your doctor, at public health centers, senior centers, pharmacies and supermarkets.
For more than four decades, the flu vaccine has been strongly recommended for older people, but now some scientists say the vaccine probably doesn’t work well for those over 70. About 75 percent of flu deaths happen to people in this age group.
Flu is a contagious illness of the respiratory system caused by the influenza virus. Flu can lead to pneumonia, bronchitis, sinusitis, ear problems and dehydration.
Droplets from coughing and sneezing spread the flu. An adult with flu can infect others beginning one day before symptoms develop and up to five days after becoming sick. Children may spread flu for more than seven days.
The best way to combat the bug is to get the flu vaccine. You have to get inoculated annually because new vaccines are prepared every year to combat new versions of the virus. When you battle the flu, you develop antibodies to the invading virus, but those antibodies don’t work on new strains. The vaccine does not prevent flu in all people; it works better in younger recipients than older ones.
Contrary to rumor, you can’t catch the flu from the vaccine. The flu vaccine is not made from a live virus.
The recovery time for the flu is about one to two weeks. However, in seniors, weakness may persist for a longer time.
The common scenario for flu is a sudden onset of symptoms, which include chills, fatigue, fever, cough, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, muscle aches and appetite loss.
While nausea, vomiting and diarrhea can be related to the flu, these are rarely the primary flu symptoms. The flu is not a stomach or intestinal disease. The term stomach flu is inaccurate.
When symptoms strike, get to a doctor as soon as possible; the faster the better. There are prescription antiviral drugs to treat flu. Over-the-counter medicines can help relieve symptoms of the flu. You should also drink liquids to prevent dehydration, and sleep to bolster your immune system.
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Swine Flu Immunizations Begin
Doctors Anticipate Successful Tests
By JOSEPH BROWNSTEIN
ABC News Medical Unit
Aug. 20, 2009
With adult trials already under way without serious incident, researchers began giving H1N1 swine flu vaccine to children Wednesday to test the safety and effectiveness for the upcoming flu season.
The trials among children, which will ultimately be conducted at five universities in the United States, will allow researchers to determine effective and safe dosing of the vaccine, which has been designed to prevent a strain of influenza that has already claimed more than 1,000 lives worldwide.
“There was a lot of thought and consideration about the safest but most expeditious way to proceed, and we have completed enrollment,” said Dr. Karen Kotloff, lead investigator of H1N1 studies conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, which is leading the trials. “This is a vaccine that is made in exactly the same way as the standard, licensed flu vaccine.”
Children will receive two doses of vaccine, with half receiving 15 micrograms of antigens — just as they would for each of the three strains in seasonal flu vaccine — while others will receive30 micrograms to see if a higher dose is needed to protect against swine flu.
Younger children will undergo three blood draws to test vaccine effectiveness while children above the age of 10 will undergo five — similar to adults — a concession to the younger children’s dislike of having blood taken.
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Latest News About Swine Flu From The White House
Posted: Monday, August 24, 2009 11:42 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: White House
From NBC’s Winston Wilde
Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius acknowledged there is a significant chance of school disruptions in the upcoming flu season, due to H1N1 “swine flu.”
At a press conference this morning in front of H.D. Cooke Elementary School, Duncan said, “Some schools may experience large absentee rates; some across the country may even need to be closed temporarily at some point during the school year. We must make sure that learning continues if the virus spreads. That is hugely important.”
He added that the goal for schools nationwide is “to keep our children safe and keep our children learning.”
The Department of Education released instructions to schools today on how to be ready for any possible disruption due to H1N1, including having homework packages ready for students while they must stay home, having online resources accessible from the home (Apple and Microsoft representatives were present at the school, according to Duncan), and maintaining close contact with parents, so they can keep their kids up to speed on curricula.
The H1N1 vaccine will be ready by mid-October. Once available, kids will be one of the “priority populations,” and both the Department of Education and HHS are reaching out to schools to make sure parents remember to make vaccinations a priority.
While the H1N1 vaccine is still in its testing phases, Sebelius emphasized mitigation strategies, like remembering to wash hands, coughing into shirtsleeves instead of coughing into a hand or worse yet, not covering a mouth, and to stay home – students and teachers alike – if they develop flu symptoms.
HHS distributed to elementary school s its “Avoid the Flu” resource kits, and of course, has a flu Web site, with guidance for K-12, colleges and universities, and businesses.
After the press conference, Sebelius and Duncan toured the school to see its health facilities and green initiatives and ate a breakfast with the children in the cafeteria.
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