If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
22 million Americans have been infected with the H1N1 virus. 100,000 have been hospitalized. 4,000 Americans have died. 8 million children have been infected with the H1N1 virus. 540 children have died. Why has the reported number of cases of the H1N1 flu recently climbed so dramatically? In addition to counting related illnesses (pneumonia and bacterial infections) caused by the H1N1 virus, the CDC announced a new method of more accurately calculating the impact of the H1N1 virus.
Relying only on lab-confirmed cases results is an under-estimation of the virus’ spread and impact. A large majority of patients never have their H1N1 symptoms confirmed by a lab because doctor’s offices, emergency departments, urgent care clinics and the laboratory themselves are all overwhelmed by the volume of sick patients. The CDC believes that this new method provides a more complete picture of the disease incidence and its severity.
The new method provides estimates of the following:
1-the number of people infected based on visits to treatment facilities (doctor’s offices, urgent care centers, emergency departments)
2-the number of patients hospitalized
3-the number of deaths in the first six months of the pandemic
The CDC feels that these estimates are more complete than counts that initially only used laboratory-confirmed cases and did not include those cases from the onset of the H1N1 pandemic.
In the most simplistic terms, flu vaccines including the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines are made from a dead virus (found in pre-filled syringes and vials) or a greatly weakened live virus (found in the nasal sprays). These viruses are grown in eggs and then they go through a processing period. The vaccines are then painstaking tested by the FDA and then hopefully approved or else it’s back to the drawing and the process is started all over again. However, vaccines have been made the same way for many years and in recent years have had no problems passing the FDA’s strict requirements. Finally the vaccines are placed in vials or syringes and made available to the public.
Once you receive the vaccine, your body reacts to the dead or weakened virus by producing its own army of antibodies to protect you. This army of antibodies that the vaccine helped your body create assists your immune system to attack and destroy the live virus if it enters your body.
That’s about as simple as I can make it …………. I hope this explanation helps.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that counting related illnesses caused by the H1N1 virus, the number of deaths from the H1N1 virus has increased by about four times earlier estimates.
Federal health officials now say nearly 4,000 Americans have died from the H1N1 virus since April – the start of the H1N1 flu season. Previous estimates put the number of fatalities at around 1,000, but the death toll has been recalculated to include deaths from flu-related complications, such as pneumonia and bacterial infections.
The CDC estimates that 22 million Americans have gotten the virus and close to 100,000 have been hospitalized.
Eight million children have been infected – 540 have died.
The “regular” or “seasonal” flu season has NOT started yet and the nation is facing a severe shortage of the “seasonal” flu vaccine. This is in addition to the shortage of the H1N1 flu vaccine. According to federal officials and flu experts this situation was unavoidable. Because of the global H1N1 flu pandemic, the demand for all flu shots is far beyond what manufacturers can make in a year.
Last year, 103 million Americans received the “seasonal” flu vaccine. This year 114 million doses have been manufactured and 90 million doses have been shipped leaving about 24 million doses of the “seasonal” flu vaccine yet to be shipped. There is no way vaccine manufacturers can make more “seasonal” flu vaccine now. The manufacturers have already committed their factories to making nearly 200 million doses of H1N1 flu vaccine for the United States and other markets. The problem causing the delay is that the growing of the H1N1vaccine in the eggs is much slower than was predicted.
Bet you thought I was going to tell you about how I stood in a line for a couple of hours in order to receive the H1N1 vaccine for my child. Nope – I was on the other end. I was giving the shots. It was a very interesting experience. There were hundreds of very responsible parents getting their children vaccinated. There were also those parents with infants under 6 months of age (the infants can’t receive the vaccine) getting vaccinated so they don’t bring the H1N1 virus into their home.
My greatest frustration during the day were those adults who lied to get the vaccine. There was the elderly couple who insisted they were taking care of three grandchildren all under 6 months of age and demanded the flu shot. Hmmm ……. they were having difficulties negotiating the process of just getting the vaccine not alone could I imagine them caring for infants. Read more »
President Obama has declared the H1N1 flu a national emergency. The H1N1 has claimed more than 1,000 American lives, which includes 100 children. 46 states are reporting widespread flu activity. This declaration will allow public health agencies as well as doctors and hospitals to bypass certain federal requirements allowing healthcare facilities to immediately implement emergency operational plans. This includes the creation of alternate care locations including offsite hospital centers at schools or community centers to improve the treatment and protect non-infected patients. Read more »
So, will this administration also fail in its attempts to reform the healthcare system? The current proposals for healthcare reform have created an uproar in many communities. One of the many hurdles in gaining acceptance of any healthcare reform proposal is that 80% of Americans are pleased with their health insurance and are generally satisfied with the care they receive. These insured individuals fear change. Yet, the US spends twice as much per person as do the 10 next richest countries in the world. But still, 1 out of 6 Americans under the age of 65 are uninsured or worse are uninsurable. Read more »
