H1N1 Vaccine, take it or not?

[Broomstick]

Is it possible China has had an outbreak of swine flu more recently than elsewhere? That could also account for some of the difference, if that is the case. A prior outbreak might have resulted in a significant portion of the population gaining some immunity.

[Lusankya]

Perhaps it would be good to look at the death rate relative to reported severe cases, rather than ? According to the latest news here, there have been about 45 thousand cases confirmed cases, with 82 developing severe symptoms and six deaths. How does the death rate for severe cases of swine flu compare to that?

China is seeing a sharp rise in number of A/H1N1 flu cases. Experts believe the peak is yet to come.
They predict a nationwide flu peak season could last two to three months.

The virus is spreading fast and health authorities in China are intensifying prevention and treatment.

The A/H1N1 flu virus is spreading quickly in China, with the flu season coming earlier than in previous years.

In Beijing alone, about five-thousand flu infections were reported every day in the capital recently.

Over half of them have been confirmed as A/H1N1 flu infections.

Liang Wannian, Emergency Office, Health Ministry, said, "Most of the A/H1-N1 flu patients are students. Most of the mass infections also took place in schools. Therefore schools are the focus of our prevention and control work. "

Liang says although the virus is relatively mild, it could become severe for patients who have a weak immune system.

Liang Wannian, Emergency Office, Health Ministry, said, "How to detect severe cases and cure them in an early period has been the key of our job."

As of Friday, the Chinese mainland has reported nearly 45-thousand confirmed cases, including 82 people with severe symptoms.

Health authorities say they are confident and capable of controlling the spread of A/H1N1 flu, as long as medical resources nationwide are distributed and used in a scientific way.

BEIJING, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Two more people on the Chinese mainland died of A/H1N1 influenza in the 48 hours ending at 3 p.m. Friday, bringing the total to six, said the Ministry of Health in a statement on its website Friday night.

The ministry was not immediately available for more information on the two death cases.

According to the ministry, the mainland reported 2,972 confirmed cases of the A/H1N1 influenza in the 48 hours, bringing the total number to 44,981.

So far, 33,184 patients have recovered, and 29 of 82 patients in serious condition have been cured, the ministry said.

[Broomstick]

I should also add that adding to the last information I looked at, North American and Australia are currently most severely affected. It's possible that it reached China later, and that the Chinese really do have fewer cases at present as the virus is just getting started. What things will look like a month from now is a different matter.

[Questor]

I'll be getting the vaccine as soon as the program starts for us.

We're a school district, so I don't know where we fall in the priority lists, but I do know that the three programs I know of out here are being (or are supposed to be being) pretty strict about who they give the vaccine to.

[SCRawl]

The recent deaths of young people from H1N1 have caused a stampede to the vaccination clinics around here, especially in Toronto. Demand is definitely exceeding supply, and so far they're only asking for the high-risk groups to show up. I am not in such a group, though by their age alone my children are, and I can't get near the clinics. Maybe next week.

[Simon_Jester]

Semi-related question: after exposure to the flu, about how long does it typically take for symptoms to start showing up? How soon can you reasonably infer that you are infected?

[Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba]

I had the flu already, during my the whole week of my final exams of high school, no less.

It makes a damned good anecdote (I couldn't sleep! I couldn't eat! I couldn't regulate my body temperature! And I had Calculus the next morning!) but frankly, it did not impress me as a virus. I mean, I have a pretty strong constitution in general, but my Uni's been fear-mongering something awful the past few weeks (posters and squirt-bottles of purell fucking everywhere) and it's done nothing but fill me with eye-rolling disdain. I certainly won't go out of my way to get the shot.

Though hilariously, the local government's response has been embarassingly cludged, and most people haven't even gotten the seasonal flu vaccine, nor do we know when we're going to get it. Mississippi North politics are fun times.

[Darth Wong]

I got the whole family vaccinated on Saturday. Luckily, my family doctor had the vaccine, so I was able to get it without standing in a lineup for hours.

[Darth Wong]

It makes a damned good anecdote (I couldn't sleep! I couldn't eat! I couldn't regulate my body temperature! And I had Calculus the next morning!) but frankly, it did not impress me as a virus. I mean, I have a pretty strong constitution in general, but my Uni's been fear-mongering something awful the past few weeks (posters and squirt-bottles of purell fucking everywhere) and it's done nothing but fill me with eye-rolling disdain. I certainly won't go out of my way to get the shot.

Try telling that to the people here in Toronto, where a healthy 13 year old kid died last week the day after he got it.

[Vympel]

Would 13 years old have fit the category of those who are IIRC the most vulnerable to it, i.e. the young and the old?

[Darth Wong]

Would 13 years old have fit the category of those who are IIRC the most vulnerable to it, i.e. the young and the old?

Around here, they're saying that really young kids are the vulnerable group, ie- 5 and under. A 13 year old is not supposedly in the highest-vulnerability group.

[SCRawl]

Just to relate another experience, I took my 3.5-year-old to get the shot today. I showed up five minutes before Noon (when the clinic opened), and I was out before 1pm. I heard that the clinic in the same location was a zoo yesterday, but today it was running smoothly when I was there.

Of course, the worst part was my daughter's screaming when she got the shot.

[PeZook]

Oh, I can relate to that. I have a three year old niece, she's terrified of doctors, to say nothing of needles. She can scream for half an hour after getting a shot.

[Simon_Jester]

In hindsight, I think I should have gotten my flu shot a few weeks ago, since I am now in the middle of a modest case of flu.

[FSTargetDrone]

Currently in Pennsylvania, as with many other places, there are limited supplies of the vaccine:

Pennsylvania continues to place orders with the federal government for the novel H1N1 flu vaccine for more than 4,000 pre-registered and certified providers in the state. However, due to the nationwide delay in the production of the vaccine, it is arriving in the state in very limited quantities. There are currently no public vaccination sites.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is recommending the limited vaccine doses for the following groups that are most vulnerable to being affected by H1N1:

* Pregnant women
* Persons six months to 24 years old
* Healthcare providers and EMS personnel
* Parents, household members or caregivers of children under 6 months
* Those under 65 with certain underlying medical conditions

If you or a loved one is in one of the five priority groups, please contact your healthcare provider or school district to find out if the H1N1 vaccine is available near you. If you are unable to find the vaccine in your area, please call the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 1-877-PA-HEALTH (1-877-724-3258).

When larger quantities of the vaccine are produced and shipped to Pennsylvania, they will be available for everyone free of charge at public health vaccination clinics throughout the state. As soon as public vaccination clinics are scheduled, we will list the information here. Please continue to check this page often for updates.

Neither I nor my girlfriend fall into any of those groups, so it looks like we will be waiting for now.

[Ypoknons]

I would, but the Hong Kong Government didn't manage to get the supplies from the central government in time. Gr.... all that bootlicking and you can't even supply us with this this?

[FSTargetDrone]

My cousin is a 911 dispatcher and her baby girl was born earlier this year. My cousin's husband is an EMT and from time to time he and his ambulance crew will drive from near Scranton, PA (where they live) to Philadelphia, transporting patients who need attention at the better hospitals down here. So they are on the early list for this.

[SCRawl]

Ghetto edit: my wife (who has asthma, and is therefore in the group of people needing the shot early) took our 5-year-old a little after 6pm to the same clinic, and had an experience very similar to mine. I'm guessing that things are starting to stabilize a little with respect to the craziness surrounding vaccinations.