The group most threatened by swine flu and most in need of the new vaccine, world health authorities agree, is that of pregnant women.
That's why there's a vaccine being offered.
Take a new vaccine, a wary public, limited supplies, and a Palm Beach County health department nervous about long lines and you have a swine flu vaccination campaign off to a sluggish start. The first free public H1N1 vaccination clinic, held at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in West Palm Beach today, attracted only about 30 people, despite that the vaccine was free, and the clinic was publicized.
Take a new vaccine, a wary public, limited supplies, and a Palm Beach County health department nervous about long lines and you have a swine flu vaccination campaign off to a sluggish start.
The first free public H1N1 vaccination clinic, held at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in West Palm Beach today, attracted only about 30 people, despite that the vaccine was free, and the clinic was publicized.
That'll vary from place to place, but the assumption that everyone will want the shot is not borne out by polls.
Wild rumors are flying about the newly developed vaccine for pandemic influenza H1N1, also known as "swine flu." We've seen e-mails stating that the vaccine is tainted with antifreeze or Agent Orange, causes Gulf War syndrome, or has killed U.S. Navy sailors. One says the vaccine is an "evil depopulation scheme." The claims are nearly pure bunk, with only trace amounts of fact.If you are the sort who trusts anonymous e-mails more than you do doctors and experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, you may wish to stop reading now. For others, here are the facts as stated by the best authorities we can find:The vaccine does have some risks – the same risks as the seasonal flu vaccine. Except for the virus, it is functionally identical to the vaccine that's given every year. The multidose formulation of the vaccine contains thimerosal, which prevents contamination. Some have accused thimerosal of causing developmental disorders in children, but scientific evidence doesn't support this. The vaccine does not contain squalene, which has been accused – also without good evidence – of causing Gulf War syndrome. There's no reason to believe that a vaccination would cause Guillain-Barre syndrome. GBS was associated with several hundred flu vaccinations in 1976, but there's been no evidence of an association since then, despite close monitoring. While it's true that a Navy vessel was prevented from deploying because of a flu outbreak, that had nothing to do with the vaccine, which hadn't been developed at the time. And there were no deaths aboard the ship, as some e-mails claim.Vaccination is not mandatory for the public nationally or in any state, although New York requires that health care providers get vaccinated. Massachusetts legislation granting standby powers in case of health emergencies does not require vaccination or establish quarantine "camps."
Wild rumors are flying about the newly developed vaccine for pandemic influenza H1N1, also known as "swine flu." We've seen e-mails stating that the vaccine is tainted with antifreeze or Agent Orange, causes Gulf War syndrome, or has killed U.S. Navy sailors. One says the vaccine is an "evil depopulation scheme." The claims are nearly pure bunk, with only trace amounts of fact.
If you are the sort who trusts anonymous e-mails more than you do doctors and experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, you may wish to stop reading now. For others, here are the facts as stated by the best authorities we can find:
If you are the sort who trusts anonymous e-mails more than you do doctors and experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, you may have bigger problems than just figuring out whether to get a flu shot. Doctors and experts aren't always right, but let's just say that anonymous e-mails aren't the epitome of accuracy, either.
More than 16,000 registered nurses are locked in a contract dispute with officials at 37 Catholic hospitals statewide and plan to strike Oct. 30 out of concern that the hospitals’ lax safety standards put them at risk of catching H1N1 flu.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory on October 15th warning consumers to use caution when ordering anything from the internet that claims to "diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat or cure the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus", as many of these claims are questionable at best, even up to being outright lies. In addition, over 80 internet sellers of various products, largely dietary supplements, were warned on the 18th to remove claims that their products prevented or treated the H1N1 swine flu virus.
Caveat emptor.
"There's no perfect way," said Dr. William Schaffner, a flu specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which is going with the signs but reassesses weekly. "We cannot hermetically seal the institution. You can have people who are going to get sick tomorrow who already are excreting the virus." It makes for a confusing time as hospitals struggle to balance the recuperative effects of having loved ones visit with the fear that they'll carry in swine flu to people already weakened from something else.
"There's no perfect way," said Dr. William Schaffner, a flu specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which is going with the signs but reassesses weekly. "We cannot hermetically seal the institution. You can have people who are going to get sick tomorrow who already are excreting the virus."
It makes for a confusing time as hospitals struggle to balance the recuperative effects of having loved ones visit with the fear that they'll carry in swine flu to people already weakened from something else.
Nonetheless, hospitals all over the country are restricting visitors.