As recently as January 15, 7 states were still reporting regional flu activity, so flu is still out there. Also, seasonal flu typically peaks in February and March and influenza activity can occur as late as May. So, increased activity from either seasonal flu, H1N1 or both are still possible this season.
For example, during the pandemic, flu activity dropped in December and January. Public health officials assumed the worst was over, and stopped encouraging people to get vaccinated. Then flu activity increased abruptly in February and March, and hospitalizations and deaths increased as well.
That was an important lesson—even if flu activity dies down in January, as it has this year, the season is not over. Children who are 9-years old or younger need two doses of vaccine about a month apart. There is enough vaccine for them as well. But it is especially important for certain groups of people to get vaccinated. If you care for or live with an infant under 6 months of age babies less than 6 months old are too young to be vaccinated , you should get vaccinated, too, to prevent spreading the flu to people who are vulnerable.
This is a very good time to get vaccinated. An easy way to find out where vaccine is available in your area is by going to www. In addition, Flu. When you go to flu. CDC distributes vaccine to 62 "project areas.
CDC sends these project areas an allocation report each morning on how much of each formulation of vaccine against H1N1 influenza virus is available for them to order. The number of doses "allocated" for ordering is the amount that is at the distribution depots and ready for states to order. The quantity of vaccine allocated is based on the project area's population size. Project areas are responsible for registering vaccine providers in their jurisdiction.
Providers may include, but are not limited to, individual clinicians, provider offices, clinics at places of work, hospitals, local health departments, retail pharmacies, and community vaccinators. Providers or facilities receiving vaccine must be capable of receiving and properly storing vaccine. Specific determinations about where vaccine will be shipped and how it will be distributed to providers are made at the state and local level. The federal government allocates vaccine based on population to public health departments in the 62 project areas.
These public health departments then make decisions about how to distribute vaccine to providers equitably and efficiently within their jurisdictions with the goal of reaching the priority groups first. State and local immunization programs have planned their efforts according to local capacity and needs.
CDC continues to encourage state and local health officials to review and revise their vaccine distribution plans in response to changing needs. In contrast, the successful vaccine rollout helped to end the H1N1 influenza pandemic in As with all medicines, vaccines can have side effects. In the U. There are rigorous processes in place, and in some cases, vaccines can take several years to approve.
There are a variety of flu vaccines with different levels of safety and effectiveness. Swine flu vaccines protect against the H1N1 virus, a type of influenza. There were two major vaccine rollouts for swine flu in and The vaccine was in response to a sudden emergence of the virus at Fort Dix. The U. The vaccine was effective but caused side effects. This rare condition causes the immune system to attack healthy nerve cells, leading to weakness and mobility problems. There were also claims that the vaccine was responsible for several other neurological problems, such as multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis.
However, the Institute of Medicine Immunization Safety Review Committee concluded a lack of evidence to support these claims. This put a greater emphasis on the small rise in health complications following vaccination because it was not preventing swine flu cases.
There were reports of some people from several European countries developing narcolepsy after receiving the swine flu vaccine. However, the CDC found no evidence of a link between the vaccine and narcolepsy in the U. The effectiveness of the swine flu vaccine is difficult to measure as the virus did not spread beyond Fort Dix. However, a study found that people who received the vaccine had a stronger immune response to the virus than those who did not. The authors also highlight other factors that could explain this, such as immunity from an earlier swine flu infection.
July 22 Clinical trials testing the H1N1 flu vaccine began. Calls were conducted with Secretary Duncan and Sebelius to explain guidance. Press briefings followed. Second wave of H1N1 influenza activity began in the U. August 30 New reporting season for the influenza season began. September 1 More than 1, test kits shipped to domestic and international laboratories in countries since May 1, Data showed deaths with lab-confirmed H1N1 flu in the U.
September 30 U. October National Influenza H1N1 vaccination campaign. October 5 First doses of H1N1 vaccine were given in the U. October 24 Influenza activity reached its highest level in the reporting week ending October 24, , with 48 of 50 states reported widespread activity. November 12 CDC released its first estimates official estimates of H1N1 cases, hospitalization and deaths.
The government promised that to million doses of H1N1 vaccine would be available by October to head off an expected second wave of infections.
Rebecca Wurtz , an infectious disease physician and population health informaticist in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, said the government also did a poor job of communicating where the vaccine would be available and who should be first in line to get it. A Gallup survey from early November found that 54 percent of adults said the federal government was doing a poor or very poor job of providing the country with an adequate supply of the H1N1 vaccine.
So by the time the vaccine was widely available in late December, the second wave of H1N1 in the United States had passed and many people were no longer interested in being vaccinated. Wurtz said there was a similar waning of concern among parents about the virus. The vaccine shortages also led to a global battle for the limited supplies.
Developed countries placed large advance orders for the H1N1 vaccine, leaving low-income countries, including Mexico, without enough doses.
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