Has your opinion of the swine flu threat changed?

I was extremely concerned about this from the very beginning and I still am. I believe the border should have been closed with Mexico when this first surfaced. Whenever "they" get the vaccinations ready, I'll try to get one.

Somewhat. So far there have been some underlying conditions revealed eventually in each person that has died. That being said, I will not be going to the get together I was invited at my friend's in St Charles tomorrow, since her son is a student at SCE. I volunteer with a program for Down Syndrome children, kids who often do have some heart issues. So I am not going to take the chance of being exposed and possibly carrying it there. It's one thing to be randomly exposed, but quite another to walk into a situation where the likelihood increases significantly.

I will say that my opinion of parents in St. Charles has gone down. With the swine flu in the area and so much in the news, there were parents who allowed their kids to go to the Homecoming Dance even though they were sick. All because they had paid for tickets and dresses, etc. If anyone has been in a high school gym during a Homecoming dance, they will realize what a hot, humid, incubator like environment that is. (Yes, I have chaperoned high school dances in the past.) No wonder it spread to so many kids.

"Whenever "they" get the vaccinations ready, I'll try to get one."

Dupage County Health Department, Today, October 22, 4PM. It was on CBS2 this morning.

Lets see:

1.
Yes, the swine flue is real and really does go after your lungs.

2.
Yes, I do plan to get vaccinated and get my kids vaccinated.

3.
Unfortunately, the US is having a re-run of the Hilary Care demo when all of the childrens vaccines were purchased by the FEDs and sat rotting in a warehouse just like the Soviet Union.

Today, the FEDs are not releasing the vaccine to doctors because "they can't be trusted with it". The FEDs are rationing distribution. Instead the FEDs are forcing you to go to the County Health Office so you can experience the benefits of Big Government control and efficiency.

Apparently, when Obama stated that "Doctors can't be trusted because they will amputate your healthy foot just to get the $40K surgical fee" he meant it.

Ideologically driven medical care, I can't wait.

As far as doctors not getting vaccines and not giving vaccines, I have heard for a long time that there is no money in it and they prefer to hand it off to clinic care areas.

Now, this may be very different for HINI distribution, as it's been such a short time-frame to develop this vaccine, but I don't think we can put all the blame on vaccines not being given by doctors on the government.

If the government has physical possession of the vaccines, and they are refusing to put them into the highly effective private market distribution system (the same type that gets fresh lettuce to Maine from California during the winter), who else should we blame for not distributing the vaccines?

The insurance companies?

Don't the nurses administer the shots?

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By anonymous on October 22, 2009 11:07 AM

As far as doctors not getting vaccines and not giving vaccines, I have heard for a long time that there is no money in it and they prefer to hand it off to clinic care areas.

Now, this may be very different for HINI distribution, as it's been such a short time-frame to develop this vaccine, but I don't think we can put all the blame on vaccines not being given by doctors on the government.

To Anonymous on October 22, 2009 10:53 AM:

I don't think the government has anything to do with it. There was a very short time frame to develop so much vaccine. I saw something on the news this a.m., "why is there not enough HlNl vaccine? Blame eggs". I didn't have time to watch it, but aren't eggs still used in developing vaccines? The virus is injected into fertilized chicken eggs and incubated there, then extracted for use? That's tens of millions of eggs right there. Everything I have heard says what vaccine is available now is out there.

What gives you the impression that the government has possession of vaccine and is withholding it? This sounds paranoid, to say the least.

If the government has physical possession of the vaccines, and they are refusing to put them into the highly effective private market distribution system (the same type that gets fresh lettuce to Maine from California during the winter), who else should we blame for not distributing the vaccines?

The govt does not have the vaccines in their possession. The manufacturers of the product (GSK, Medimmune, Sanofi, Novartis) all still have much of the vaccine in production. This vaccine takes over 4 months to make, and the yields that were anticipated never materialized. Once completed they will be distributed under the guidance of the CDC. Manufacturing vaccines was never a profitable endeavour until recently - too much liability (autism concerns), and too much leftover product (unsold doses are sent back to the manufacturer). With H1N1 and all this talk about pandemics there are a number of manufacturers getting back in the business (Abbott just purchased Solvay's pharma business for this reason).

Anonymous, the government originally predicted there would be 40 million doses by late October/ early November, then that estimate was dropped to 20 million and then it was dropped again. Obviously, the first sets of doses that were ready were given to health care workers and now as it is being made available in very limited supply to the general public, the demand is exceeding the supply across the country.
http://www.cdc.gov/H1n1flu/update.htm
"•Fourty-one states are reporting widespread influenza activity at this time. They are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. This many reports of widespread activity are unprecedented during seasonal flu."

There are only 4 companies manufacturing the vaccine. It's a pandemic very close to turning into an epidemic. The production delays, IMO, are making things worse, but I think that can't be helped.

" In explaining the vaccine delay, Sumaya said that, first, the H1N1 virus did not grow as quickly as expected during a half-century old -- and often-criticized -- egg-based production technique.

Second, he said, "because there was kind of a rush to get things done, there were some packaging areas that they [federal officials] had thought wouldn't take long, yet they did."

snip
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/10/22/production-problems-plague-delivery-of-swine-flu.html

Just to advise, as of five minutes ago I finally (!!!) got through to the DuPage County Health Line number for appts. for the vaccine and the recorded message was that they only had the flumist available for those up to age 49 and that they have run out of their supply for the intramuscuklar vaccine. They said the CDC assures them the intramuscular vaccine will be made available within a few days and to call back if you are above age 49. I guess I will call back this weekend or thereabouts.

Well now that we have at least one confirmed case at my school & I have possibly a student with it as her sister was confirmed so far it is hitting closer to home & making me a bit worried.

Another thing that concerns me is if you go to the CDC site, on the right side it says they only keep track of cases confirmed in ERs. If you go to your general practioner and get tested those are not counted. This means the total numbers are likely much higher than what is being reported in the media. That concerns me.

Once again, the media has made this into a much more frightening scenario than it really is. Yes, the flu is real. Yes, it will probably reach pandemic proportions. However, for the vast majority of those who become infected the effects won't be any worse than the seasonal flu. You'll feel lousy for a few days and then you'll get better. During last year's media freakout about H1N1 they (in most cases) failed to report that the "normal" seasonal flu kills more than 35,000 people every year. As with H1N1, the majority of those who perish have other serious underlying health issues. The bottom line is, people should be a little more concerned about the regular seasonal flu, rather than simply dismissing it as "cold & flu season". Swine flu shouldn't be any more of a concern for most people. It's not some super disease that kills the majority of those it infects. It's just another strain of flu.

By One Who Values You, that should concern you. There could be an epidemic here (versus a pandemic) and we don't know it. Basic statistical tools of epidemiologists aren't being used, just like a third world country. If the numbers are kept down through lack of reporting and information, we just go about our normal business sneezing adn coughing in close quarters on the same trains, els, elevators, malls, etc.

Just wanted to let the bloggers here know, I called Dreyer Medical Clinic and DuPage Medical Group this morning and neither has the intramuscular vaccines. They're hoping to get them in soon, like very late October or early November. DuPage County Health Dept. also is out of the intramuscular shots. The woman at Dreyer mentioned she heard of more schools closing in small towns and knew of the bit that only ER visits are being counted, which is probably resulting in a huge undercount of what is really happening regarding the swine flu.

By just the facts on October 23, 2009 9:35 AM

"Once again, the media has made this into a much more frightening scenario than it really is. Yes, the flu is real. Yes, it will probably reach pandemic proportions. However, for the vast majority of those who become infected the effects won't be any worse than the seasonal flu."

I felt the same way about this flu at one time. Then I started reading a book about the 1918 flu that killed between 50,000,000-100,000,000 people worldwide. It too was an H1N1. Oddly enough the flu from 1918 started out killing a large percentage of people that got it first (like in Mexico). When the first real wave hit large numbers of people, the death rate wasn't all that high. It was later during the second wave, after it had time to mutate, that it started killing millions of people. It got to the point that they were pulling a cart down the street and yelling for people to bring out their dead. The dead were eventually thrown in mass graves, without coffins, that were dug with large steam shovels.

Don't underestimate what this thing could turn into.

I'm pretty sure my kids picked this up in 203 already. I'm glad they most likely have had it.

i think the fact that most doctors surveyed in the u.k. and in china are saying they wont get the h1n1 vaccine due to concerns about its ingredients is enough for me to not get the vaccine. that and president obama refuses to innoculate his children with the vaccine.

It was in the news yesterday that Obama's children did get the vaccine. The H1N1 virus has been present at the school they attend. I actually heard it on WGN radio. However Barak and Michelle are not getting it at this time since they are not in the priority groups recommended for the vaccine.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/10/27/obama_girls_vaccinated_against.html?wprss=44

I had never heard anything about Obama not wanting to innoculate the girls. My guess is that this was one of the crazy rumors that go around.

Does anyone know why Edward Hopsital workers don't have their H1N1 flu shots yet? I was there yesterday and asked and the RN said they haven't gotten their shots yet. Why do other counties around here seem to have at least some of the intramuscular shots when DuPage Health Dept. again told me yesterday they have no shipment yet?

I had my daughter vaccinated today with the nasal spray. Will County Health conducted a free clinic at Plainfield Central High and gave out 2,000 vaccinations. There will be two other clinics in surrounding areas Thurs and Fri. For a schedule, log onto www.willcountyheath.org/swineflu.

And thanks, Anon, for informing Quietly that the Obamas did innoculate their children. It never ceases to surprise me that the nuttier the rumor, the more people seem to fall for it!

Update for DuPage County today; still no H1N1 intramuscular shots available after calling the Health Dept., its hotline number and its general info number. What I heard from them today is the exact same garbage I heard last week about the intramuscular shots: "in a few days."

need to find out where i can get the swine flu shot in my area. ///////////////////dupo Illinois

The best protection against the flu, including H1N1, is to keep your natural immune system strong. The state of your immune system determines whether or not you will get sick, even if you come in contact with the virus.

Years ago it was recognized that mercury was dangerous merely by absorption through the skin, let alone by ingesting it. So thermometers containing mercury were taken off the market. The swine flu vaccine contains thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative; and yet it's deemed "safe." Hogwash. Think for yourselves, folks, instead of trusting the marketing from those who stand to profit handsomely from this vaccine: the drug companies who produce the vaccine and the medical practitioners who charge for all the additional office visits.

Americans are always looking for a quick fix to maintaining their own health. Health in a pill; health in a shot. It doesn't exist, folks. Wake up. Take some personal responsibility for maintaining your own health and build up your immune system. Optimize your vitamin D levels. Avoid sugar. Get enough rest. Don't let stress become overwhelming. Exercise. Wash your hands often.

I personally try my best to adhere to those guidelines. I work in a public contact job and have not missed a single work day in over 10 years. I have also never gotten a flu shot, and I never intend to.

Not only is H1N1 vaccine in short to non-existent supply, so is the vaccine for the seasonal flu. It is not to be found anywhere in DuPage County, leaving many without even protection from seasonal flu, which as we've all been told repeatedly, takes 36,000 lives a year.

The problem? The manufacturers and retailers who dispense the vaccine apparently opted for the H1N1 shot, probably thinking it would be more profitable.

Now many of us are vulnerable to BOTH strains. When is the government going to realize that it must GUARANTEE a market for the vaccine or the manufacturers and distributors WILL NOT stock it in adequate supplies?

Mr. P. Jackson on November 6, 2009 7:46 AM
Years ago it was recognized that mercury was dangerous merely by absorption through the skin, let alone by ingesting it. So thermometers containing mercury were taken off the market. The swine flu vaccine contains thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative; and yet it's deemed "safe." Hogwash.

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Sorry Mr. P Jackson but your information is not correct. Mercury in a thermometer is very different than the trace amounts in Thimerosol. There is more mercury in one tuna fish sandwich than will be in a shot of the seasonal or H1N1 flu shot, hardly a concern. Thimerosol was removed from the MMR shot over 10 years ago and the incidence of autism did not fluctuate at all. There has never been one published medically reviewed study that shows Thimerosol to be harmful, in fact there have been no less than 7 studies showing no correlation between thimerosol and autism.

But if you are concerned you can get your shot "thimerosol free". It is currently only used when packaged in the multi use vials. Your advice on taking personal responsibility is excellent, and exercise and washing hands is extremely important, but your advice to people to not get the shot is not correct and could prove dangerous to those who do need the shot.

Elaine Johnson on November 6, 2009 9:29 AM
The problem? The manufacturers and retailers who dispense the vaccine apparently opted for the H1N1 shot, probably thinking it would be more profitable.

Now many of us are vulnerable to BOTH strains. When is the government going to realize that it must GUARANTEE a market for the vaccine or the manufacturers and distributors WILL NOT stock it in adequate supplies?

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CVS in both Dupage and Will counties seem to have a ready supply, I got my shot in Plainfield earlier in the week. Capacity at the manufacturers of the vaccine is not the problem, the issue is the fact that a vaccine must incubate before harvested - something that unfortunatly takes time.

If the government wanted to guarantee a market it would lead to a happier pharmaceutical industry, but unhappy citizens because the government would have to buy the unused vaccine instead of sending them back to the manufacturers for credit.