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fred first's List: SwineFlu

How Swine Flu Vaccine Works - washingtonpost.com

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flu on 2009-08-24
Swine Flu Campaign Waits on Vaccine - washingtonpost.com

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flu on 2009-08-24
- "This is potentially the largest mass-vaccination program in human history,"
- The campaign is haunted by memories of the government's ill-fated 1976 effort to vaccinate against swine flu. The epidemic fizzled, but the vaccine was given to 40 million people and blamed for causing a rare paralyzing disorder known as Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
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- - Another wild card will be whether the vaccine will be delivered with an "adjuvant" to boost its effectiveness or stretch limited supplies into more doses.
  - "This is an overreaction," said Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center, which opposes many vaccine policies. "There is no national security threat here. Why are we operating like this? This is not polio. This is not smallpox."
  - In the meantime, local officials are drafting plans tailored to their communities. The shots in the arms and squirts up the nose will happen in schools, medical offices, hospitals, public health clinics, workplaces, drug stores and at mass vaccination events, possibly including drive-through clinics in parking lots where people would stick their arms out their car windows for a stab.
  - The national total is about 159 million people.
  - Everyone who gets a swine flu shot may need a booster several weeks later, potentially causing mix-ups about who got which shot when.
  - The federal government has spent close to $2 billion to buy up to 195 million doses of vaccine and adjuvant
  - The government is prepared to buy enough to vaccinate every person -- 600 million doses all together -- if the pandemic or demand warrants it. That could increase the cost to $5 billion for the vaccine alone. It would cost at least $9 billion to administer the vaccine to the entire population,
  - Experts are uncertain whether they will face a shortage of vaccine because of high demand or will have plenty of vaccine but little interest.
  - The CDC is formulating a $4.8 million multimedia campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated and help alleviate concerns and confusion, including radio and television public service announcements, print ads, and messages delivered via Twitter, RSS feeds and video podcasts on YouTube.
    
    Although the vaccine will be free, providers could charge about $15 to administer it -- a fee that will be covered by Medicare and many health insurance plans.

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Updated on 2009-08-24
Created on 2009-08-24

Category: Health & Wellness

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fred first's List: SwineFlu

How Swine Flu Vaccine Works - washingtonpost.com

Swine Flu Campaign Waits on Vaccine - washingtonpost.com

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