I think most of us know that Healthcare Reform has been an important focus for President Obama. With 40 million plus Americans uninsured and the costs of healthcare totally out of control, it seems now is the time to change the system. But guess what? The discussion about Healthcare Reform started back in 1912.
President Teddy Roosevelt introduced a platform calling for national health insurance. Then in 1934 President Franklin Roosevelt considered Universal Health coverage as part of the Social Security Act. Presidents including Truman, Carter, Ford, Clinton and both Bushes introduced various proposals for healthcare reform with Universal coverage as the goal. All of these proposals had one thing in common – they FAILED.
There seems to be some who believe that the 2009 H1N1 vaccine will protect you against seasonal flu virus.
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. Read more »
There is a false rumor circulating. The rumor goes like this:
“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. Read more »
According to the CDC, there’s a total of 2.4 million does of vaccine now available. Though it’s a bit of a slow start, 2.2 million doses of vaccine are being released. Every state has ordered a share of the vaccine. The ordering of the 2.2 million doses is a painstaking process because each state must specify which vaccine they want and have a plan in place for delivering it. In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration must inspect each lot of vaccine as it is packaged. Read more »
One of the most powerful weapons against the H1N1 virus is summed up in a three-word phrase you first heard from your mother: wash your hands.
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. Read more »
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF SEASONAL FLU? Aside from feeling like you’ve been run over by a huge truck, here are the specifics: sudden onset of feeling miserable; high fever; headache; extreme tiredness; dry cough; sore throat; runny or stuffy nose; muscle aches; stomach symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea can also occur but are more common in children that adults.
SYMPTOMS OF THE SWINE FLU OR THE H1N1 FLU – The symptoms of the H1N1 flu are the same as the symptoms for seasonal flu including fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, or fatigue. Some people with swine flu have also reported diarrhea and/or vomiting. In the past, severe illness such as pneumonia or respiratory failure as well as death has been reported with swine flu infections in people. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions. Read more »
H1N1 OR THE SWINE FLU – This H1N1 virus has components of pig and bird influenza viruses, so humans don’t have any immunity to it. This is the reason it’s more likely that the outbreak could become a pandemic virus (having the ability to cause a global outbreak) because it could easily spread from person-to-person.
This year, scientists are obviously well aware of the H1N1 flu and have developed and are now in the final testing phases of the specific vaccine to prevent Swine flu. This will not be a guess. The H1N1 has been isolated and potent vaccines will be available to the public to protect us all from this potentially deadly flu strain. Read more »
