The nation’s secretary of health and human services said Thursday that some vaccine to fight the H1N1 virus should be available for distribution in mid-October.
Kathleen Sebelius’ announcement came at the opening of a “flu summit” called by the Obama administration. She spoke to a seminar of governors, top health planners and managers who have gathered to discuss preparations for a possible swine flu reappearance this fall.
Health care workers hope to evaluate a candidate vaccine in early August, said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who also spoke at the meeting.
The White House, months before flu season, rolled out the big guns for the summit, underscoring the importance the Obama administration is placing on the pandemic.
The sessions at the National Institutes of Health will be attended by Sebelius, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and National Security Adviser John Brennan.
“The goal of the summit is to launch a national influenza campaign by bringing federal, state and local officials, emergency managers, educators and others together with the nation’s public health experts to build on and tailor states’ existing pandemic plans, share lessons learned and best practices during the spring and summer H1N1 wave, and discuss preparedness priorities,” Sebelius said in a statement.
Commonly called swine flu, the virus is also known as Influenza A(H1N1). The World Health Organization declared the virus a global pandemic on June 11.
The H1N1 virus continues to circulate in the United States and more than 120 other countries, especially in the southern hemisphere, where flu season is under way.
“Scientists and public health experts forecast that the impact of H1N1 may well worsen in the fall — when the regular flu season hits — or even earlier — when schools start to open — which is only five or six weeks away. in some cases,” Sebelius said.
There are more than 33,900 confirmed and probable cases of the virus in the United States, with 170 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 98,000 cases have been documented worldwide, with 440 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
The virus has bucked traditional flu outbreak patterns. Influenza is typically more active during winter and then slows when the weather turns hot.
“Now, in the UK, as in many of the North American countries, Canada, Mexico and the United States, there has been quite widespread activity, or a lot of activity of this pandemic influenza virus. And right now, it is at a typical point of the year where the activity should be pretty low, but the activity is quite high because it is a pandemic situation for these countries,” Keiji Fukuda, WHO assistant director-general, said this week.
Swine flu has become so widespread that the WHO will, in a few days, recommend that nations that already have major outbreaks no longer test for the H1N1 virus, Fukuda said.
“The reason for this is that, because the numbers of cases have increased in so many countries, it is very hard to keep up,” according to Fukuda. The virus is showing up in most of the lab tests in countries with major outbreaks.
“Now in countries that do not have cases, however, we will be continuing to recommend that people who are suspected to have pandemic influenza be tested, so that the presence of this virus can be confirmed in countries,” he said.
(Source: CNN)
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6 Responses
Perhaps they can test it on politicians to see if it results in less swinish behavior on their part??
Anything rushed out this quickly, when many such things can take years and even then, heaven forbid, unexpected side effects or dangers can occur, should be looked at with extreme suspicion.
I completely agree with no. 2. I’m very suspicious of this vaccine. Baxter, one of the largest vaccine producers recently released a vaccine that “inadvertently” sterilized millions of people around the world.
Most of the people who died from the Swine Flu had underlying health problems that compromised their immune systems.
The best defense is a healthy lifestyle–avoid or minimize your use of white flour, white sugar, white salt. Completely eliminate hydrogenated vegetable oils (a/k/a vegetable shortening) and MSG.–Stop destroying your natural defenses.
Build up these defense by eating whole grain products–breads, cereals–and greeen leafy vegetables, plus a little bit of fruit.
Eat small fish, like sardines in olive oil and small animal meat–like sheep and chicken–in moderation.
Take a multi vitamin and mineral supplement and an Omega-3 oil every day.
That should beef up your immune system and make you “bulletproof.”
deepthinker- Everything you wrote is right, but you did not give Hashem any credit for creating the healing.
#4, while I don’t know if #3’s assertions are factual or not, the answer to your question of “Would such a company be allowed to remain in business?” is a resounding “YES!”
Take a look at what you eat. MSG, for example, is, according to some, a neuroexcitotoxin, or, in layman’s terms, it kills brain cells. Everyone, however, admits that some people are sensitive to it and their symptoms worsen by consuming even common doses of MSG.
Yet MSG is a legal food additive that many companies use in a wide variety of products and there is not even a requirement that they label the product as companies using Aspartame do: “Warning: Contains…”. How, in your view, are these companies in business? There are much better examples you can find, if you take the time to do so in your favorite search engine.
Vihakesef yaaneh es hakol. It would be wise to do your own research before assuming everything out there is safe/healthy to eat.
Sammygol,
You’re uncalled for vitriol in responding to a comment is quite distasteful.
Unless you’re under twelve, this type of writing is inexcusable.