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THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS FORWARDED BY THE NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE.
July 10, 2009
0709-23
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From MSNBC.com:
Swine flu shots could begin this fall
Obama calls swine flu summit to promote 'vigilance and preparation'
updated 12:25 p.m. ET, Thurs., July 9, 2009
Link to article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31828836/ns/health-swine_flu/
WASHINGTON - U.S. swine flu vaccinations could begin in October with
children at schools among the first in line, the Obama administration said
Thursday as the president and his Cabinet urged states to figure out now how
they'll tackle the virus' all-but-certain resurgence.
"We may end up averting a crisis. That's our hope," said President Barack
Obama, who took time away from the G-8 summit in Italy to telephone another
summit back home - the 500 state and local health officials meeting to
prepare for swine flu's fall threat.
No final decision has been made on whether to vaccinate Americans, Health
and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stressed. That depends
largely on studies with experimental batches that are set to start the first
week of August - to see if they're safe and seem to work and to learn
whether they require one or two doses.
But if all goes well, the federal government will buy vaccine from
manufacturers and share it for free among the states, which must then "try
and get this in the arms of the targeted population as soon as possible,"
Sebelius said.
"We have already appropriated about a billion dollars to buy the bulk
ingredients," Sebelius said. She said another $7.5 billion was available
from emergency preparedness funds.
First in line probably will be school-age children, young adults with risky
conditions such as asthma, pregnant women and health workers, she said.
Unlike regular winter flu, the swine flu seems more dangerous to these
groups than to older people.
"Schools are natural places" to offer those vaccines, Education Secretary
Arne Duncan said.
It will be confusing, Sebelius acknowledged. Doctors' offices, clinics and
even grocery stores will be in the midst of dispensing 100 million-plus
doses of regular winter flu vaccine - and the swine flu vaccine, which will
roll out slowly, will require at least one completely separate inoculation.
"We know a mass vaccination program of even modest scale will involve
extraordinary effort on your part," Sebelius told state health workers.
Promoting vigilance
"We want to make sure we are not promoting panic but we are promoting
vigilance and preparation," Obama told the gathering.
State officials welcomed the funds but had more practical questions for the
feds, starting with what they learned from the chaos when swine flu first
burst on the scene last spring and schools around the country closed because
of sick students.
Since then, the virus has infected an estimated 1 million Americans and
still is spreading, remarkable considering influenza usually can't tolerate
summer's heat and humidity.
"What I need from all of you is an idea of when it is best to close, when it
is necessary to close and when it's not," said Belinda Pustka,
superintendent of Texas' Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School
District.
"Closing school is a last resort not a first resort," Duncan stressed, but
he said schools need to plan how they'll keep students learning if they do
have to close for extended periods.
Pustka's schools posted assignments online. But Sue Todey of Wisconsin's
Department of Public Education said that between rural geography and
poverty, many students don't have the necessary Internet access and she's
exploring using public television or old-fashioned sending home of paper
assignments.
Support for the infected
An even bigger problem: When schools close and working parents need to stay
home - or any worker gets sick - too often, they don't get paid, said Paul
Jarris of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. So they
come to work, spreading infection.
"How are we going to assist people who don't have benefits?" he asked.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said she was working with the
Labor Department to address that question, and she urged employers to allow
telecommuting and make other provisions should swine flu hit their
workplaces this fall.
Swine flu outbreaks in the fall are all but certain given its continued
spread here - 50 outbreaks in children's summer camps so far - and abroad,
with major problems in parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
What doctors can't predict is how bad it will be during the U.S. flu season,
but Obama's team of heavy-hitters spent Thursday warning against
complacency.
Even if swine flu proves no more deadly than regular winter flu, that kills
36,000 Americans a year - and with swine flu, teenagers and young adults are
being disproportionately hit, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And both types could very well
spread at the same time this fall.
"If it doesn't happen, we'll be fortunate," Sebelius added.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
WASHINGTON - U.S. swine flu vaccinations could begin in October with
children at schools among the first in line, the Obama administration said
Thursday as the president and his Cabinet urged states to figure out now how
they'll tackle the virus' all-but-certain resurgence.
"We may end up averting a crisis. That's our hope," said President Barack
Obama, who took time away from the G-8 summit in Italy to telephone another
summit back home - the 500 state and local health officials meeting to
prepare for swine flu's fall threat.
No final decision has been made on whether to vaccinate Americans, Health
and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stressed. That depends
largely on studies with experimental batches that are set to start the first
week of August - to see if they're safe and seem to work and to learn
whether they require one or two doses.
But if all goes well, the federal government will buy vaccine from
manufacturers and share it for free among the states, which must then "try
and get this in the arms of the targeted population as soon as possible,"
Sebelius said.
"We have already appropriated about a billion dollars to buy the bulk
ingredients," Sebelius said. She said another $7.5 billion was available
from emergency preparedness funds.
First in line probably will be school-age children, young adults with risky
conditions such as asthma, pregnant women and health workers, she said.
Unlike regular winter flu, the swine flu seems more dangerous to these
groups than to older people.
"Schools are natural places" to offer those vaccines, Education Secretary
Arne Duncan said.
It will be confusing, Sebelius acknowledged. Doctors' offices, clinics and
even grocery stores will be in the midst of dispensing 100 million-plus
doses of regular winter flu vaccine - and the swine flu vaccine, which will
roll out slowly, will require at least one completely separate inoculation.
"We know a mass vaccination program of even modest scale will involve
extraordinary effort on your part," Sebelius told state health workers.
Promoting vigilance
"We want to make sure we are not promoting panic but we are promoting
vigilance and preparation," Obama told the gathering.
State officials welcomed the funds but had more practical questions for the
feds, starting with what they learned from the chaos when swine flu first
burst on the scene last spring and schools around the country closed because
of sick students.
Since then, the virus has infected an estimated 1 million Americans and
still is spreading, remarkable considering influenza usually can't tolerate
summer's heat and humidity.
"What I need from all of you is an idea of when it is best to close, when it
is necessary to close and when it's not," said Belinda Pustka,
superintendent of Texas' Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School
District.
"Closing school is a last resort not a first resort," Duncan stressed, but
he said schools need to plan how they'll keep students learning if they do
have to close for extended periods.
Pustka's schools posted assignments online. But Sue Todey of Wisconsin's
Department of Public Education said that between rural geography and
poverty, many students don't have the necessary Internet access and she's
exploring using public television or old-fashioned sending home of paper
assignments.
Support for the infected
An even bigger problem: When schools close and working parents need to stay
home - or any worker gets sick - too often, they don't get paid, said Paul
Jarris of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. So they
come to work, spreading infection.
"How are we going to assist people who don't have benefits?" he asked.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said she was working with the
Labor Department to address that question, and she urged employers to allow
telecommuting and make other provisions should swine flu hit their
workplaces this fall.
Swine flu outbreaks in the fall are all but certain given its continued
spread here - 50 outbreaks in children's summer camps so far - and abroad,
with major problems in parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
What doctors can't predict is how bad it will be during the U.S. flu season,
but Obama's team of heavy-hitters spent Thursday warning against
complacency.
Even if swine flu proves no more deadly than regular winter flu, that kills
36,000 Americans a year - and with swine flu, teenagers and young adults are
being disproportionately hit, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And both types could very well
spread at the same time this fall.
"If it doesn't happen, we'll be fortunate," Sebelius added.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
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