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.

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.

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.

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.

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. BUT, I am not the flu police nor do I believe any healthcare professional giving flu shots should be in the position of arguing with those individuals who feel they are entitled to the vaccine. Question them extensively yes but fighting with someone who obviously feels they deserve the flu shot at all costs, well that’s just not the role of a nurse. I feel the responsibility is with the patient – it’s a moral issue in my opinion. Each person who lies to get the H1N1 shot  is taking the vaccine away from a child or a pregnant woman or achronically ill patient or a healthcare worker who are at great risk of getting the H1N1 virus.  But it was my experience that there were a few people during Saturday’s vaccination clinics who either lied or bullied their way into getting the flu shot. Granted they were in the minority and I only worked one clinic but there’s just something that isn’t right about people who lie to get what they want at the expense of the needs of others.

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.

This is the second such declaration since the flu first emerged last spring when Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared a public health emergency which freed up supplies of Tamiflu and Relenza from the national stockpile.

At least one extraordinary step was announced yesterday. The FDA gave permission for the use of the investigational antiviral Peramivir to treat patients who are critically ill with H1N1.

THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT TRUE 

The flu vaccine is absolutely the best way to protect you against the flu. There are two types of vaccines for the 2009 -2010 flu season. One is the seasonal flu and the other is the vaccine to protect against the H1N1 (Swine) flu virus. 

It takes about 2 weeks for the antibodies, that the vaccine gets your body to produce, to provide you full protection against both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu. You can “get” the flu during that 2 week period but it does NOT mean you got the flu from the flu shot.

There are two kinds of H1N1 vaccines: 

• One is the H1N1 flu “shot” – this vaccine contains the dead virus and is given with a needle in the arm.
  • This flu shot is approved for people 6 months of age and older, including healthy people, people with chronic medical conditions and pregnant women.
  • The same manufacturers who produce seasonal flu shots are producing 2009 H1N1 flu shots for use in the United States this season.
  • The 2009 H1N1 flu shot is being made in the same way that the seasonal flu shot is made.
• The other is a nasal spray – this vaccine is made with live, weakened viruses that do not cause the flu.
  • The same group is approved for the nasal spray vaccine as for the flu shot.
  • The flu vaccine is approved for use in healthy* people 2 years to 49 years of age who are NOT pregnant.
  • The nasal spray vaccine is being made by the same company that makes the seasonal nasal spray vaccine.
  • The 2009 H1N1 nasal spray vaccine is being made in the same way as the seasonal nasal spray vaccine.

“This new vaccine is not safe and is untested.”

This rumor is absolutely false. Clinical trials conducted by the National Institutes of Health and the vaccine manufacturers have shown that the new H1N1 vaccine is both safe and effective.  The FDA has licensed it.  There have been no safety shortcuts.

It is produced exactly the same way the seasonal flu vaccine is produced every year.  It is simply a new virus strain.  In fact, had H1N1 struck this country earlier than this spring, the H1N1 strain probably would have been included as part of this year’s seasonal flu shot.

Millions of Americans get the seasonal flu vaccine each year without any problems. Still, understanding that some Americans have concerns about “new” vaccines, the National Institutes of Health and the vaccine manufacturers have conducted more rigorous tests on the H1N1 vaccine than they do on other flu vaccines, and there have been no red flags from these clinical trials. 

Also, CDC has stepped up monitoring efforts to track the H1N1 vaccine and any possible adverse events.  Since it is so closely related to the seasonal flu vaccine, serious side effects are not expected. But all the necessary steps to promote and monitor safety are being taken.

Top doctors and scientists believe the risk of the flu, especially for pregnant women, children, and people with underlying health conditions, is higher than any risk that might come from the H1N1 vaccine.

The vaccines will continue to be available to the states as soon as they come off the production line on a lot by lot basis. There will undoubtedly be a few glitches as the process of checking each lot gets ironed out. It is expected to be a strain to keep up with the virus since influenza is widespread in the United States and continues to increase in certain areas.

These first batches of vaccines are mostly nasal spray which is approved for people aged 2 to 49 without asthma or other lung conditions.

Many states are opting to vaccinate healthcare workers first because of their high risk both of being infected and of passing infections along to vulnerable patients but this is a state by state decision.

The U.S. government has ordered 250 million doses from the manufacturers. Calculating that many Americans skip flu shots every year, the CDC believes this will be enough to fill the demand.

Many recent studies have highlighted the importance of this most basic hygiene measure. In one study, scientists counted the times the students touched their faces, documenting every lip scratch, eye rub and nose pick. On average, the students touched their eyes, noses and lips 47 times during a three-hour period, once every four minutes. The importance of this study is that hand-to-face contact has an impact on health. Germs can enter the body through the membranes of the eyes, mouth and nose.

Young children benefit from hand washing too. In a study of 6,000 elementary school students in California, Delaware, Ohio and Tennessee, students in classrooms with hand sanitizers had 20 percent fewer absences due to illness. Teacher absenteeism in those schools dropped 10 percent.

Regular soap and water and alcohol-based hand sanitizers are both effective in eliminating the H1N1 virus from the hands. In February, researchers in Australia coated the hands of 20 volunteers with copious amounts of a seasonal H1N1 flu virus. The concentration of virus was equivalent to the amount that would occur when an infected person used a hand to wipe a runny nose. When the subjects did not wash their hands, large amounts of live virus remained even after an hour, but using soap and water or a sanitizer virtually eliminated the presence of the virus.

Frequent hand washing will not eliminate risk of getting the H1N1 virus or any virus for that matter. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, a bystander might be splattered by large droplets or may inhale airborne particles. Still, it is a good idea to wash your hands regularly even if you’re not in contact people who are obviously ill.

For all these reasons, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with other health organizations around the world, urge frequent hand washing with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizers. They also emphasize some advice you may not have heard from your mother: cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow, not your bare hands.