H1N1 update

By Jennifer J. Foster

Published: August 26, 2009

As an update to yesterday’s post about the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, we have this story from the Associated Press:

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that a massive school closing wouldn’t stop the spread of the swine flu virus, saying vaccinations must be the defense against a menace that one report said could infect up to half of the population.

“What we know is that we have the virus right now traveling around the United States,“ Sebelius said in a nationally broadcast interview. “And having children in a learning situation is beneficial ... What we learned last spring is that shutting a school down sort of pre-emptively doesn’t stop the virus from spreading ...“

Asked in the interview what people should do while awaiting the arrival of a vaccine, with first supplies likely by October but most not until the Thanksgiving season, Sebelius said: “I think it’s important that people begin to anticipate that we will have a vaccine. We think it’s likely that we’re going to need two shots for the vaccine.“

She said people should plan ahead for this, particularly those with pre-existing medical conditions, pregnant women and health care industry workers. Sebelius said federal health authorities also are recommending that people should immediately get their regular “seasonal” flu vaccine to bolster their health for the scenario yet to play out later this year regarding the swine flu virus.

Here’s a link to the CDC’s “H1N1 U.S. Situation Update” map—in other words, a visual representation of where the infections have spread. One surprising fact: The virus is most widespread in Alaska and Maine—not exactly the two states I would expect to be at the top of the infection list. Other information useful for tracking H1N1 is available here, too—including the graph showing hospitalizations and deaths caused by the virus. Note that through Aug. 20, H1N1 had a fatality rate of more than 6.5 percent.

If you haven’t yet voted in my polls on this issue, please do. You’ll find the general poll in the sidebar; the poll about your intentions regarding the vaccine is in the earlier post.