Preparing for swine flu
Local school districts taking precautions, developing strategies
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Vaccination uncertainty
Suzi Mariano, the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association's public information coordinator, said manufacturers are creating a swine flu vaccine that will be distributed by the federal government to local public health departments. Because there's uncertainty about how much of the vaccine the VNA will receive, high-risk people such as pregnant women and those with underlying health conditions will likely be the first to be vaccinated. The VNA also serves Moffat and Jackson counties, further thinning what could be a limited vaccination supply.
Mariano added that there's been no indication whether a H1N1 vaccination will consist of one or multiple shots, and said it would be administered in addition to a seasonal flu shot.
Mariano said local VNA officials won't know more about the H1N1 vaccination until October. The VNA's drop-in flu clinics for seasonal flu shots will begin later this month.
Steamboat Springs — Local school districts are gearing up for the possibility of a swine flu outbreak this fall.
Unlike the Front Range - where about 50 University of Colorado at Boulder students have tested "probable" for the H1N1 flu - there have been no recent cases reported in Routt County, including in local schools.
Nonetheless, county school, health and emergency management officials are preparing for something they hope won't happen. They've been meeting semi-regularly since last spring after the virus was first reported.
At a meeting held by the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association last week, school officials were briefed on the current status of H1N1, which puts school-age children in one of the high-risk categories.
"There is a virus out there that is different than the seasonal flu. It has a higher transmission rate than the seasonal flu," Suzi Mariano, the VNA's public information coordinator, said. "We and the school districts are trying to plan should there be an outbreak or a concern in the county. There is a vaccine coming hopefully in the next couple months. We should know more about how much and what's available in October."
How do you know if you're sick?
The VNA says flu-like symptoms include a fever higher than 100 degrees, body aches, cough, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. People experiencing these symptoms are advised to stay home and avoid contact with others. People with mild symptoms don't need to be tested, but people with severe symptoms should seek medical care from their primary physician.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, there have been 70 hospitalizations and one death statewide as a result of H1N1 since April 27. The one known Routt County resident who tested positive for H1N1 had only a mild case and fully recovered.
State officials report that the 5 to 17 age group has been the most hospitalized, at 31 percent and 22 cases. It was followed by the younger than 5 age group, at 23 percent and 16 cases, and then the 18 to 39 group, at 21 percent and 15 cases. The 60-and-older age group was the least hospitalized, at 6 percent and only four cases.
Routt County's public school districts hope to prevent an H1N1 outbreak by reminding parents and students to wash their hands frequently, cough into their elbows and stay home if they feel sick. Each district superintendent said they met with their staffs this week specifically about H1N1.
If an outbreak were to occur, the superintendents in Steamboat Springs, South Routt and Hayden said they would rely on sharing information and strategies with one another and address the issue with a consistent approach.
"What that group does, what the county does, affects each of our school districts," South Routt Superintendent Scott Mader said.
Mader said it's important to keep parents up to date about what they can do if their children get sick and how the district will proceed.
"We want to be transparent," he said. "If things come up, we'll let them know. I don't think the fear factor is there as it was at one time, but we're still going to be vigilant."
Unlike last year, when a single confirmed H1N1 case could have closed an entire school, that won't happen this year - based on a recent recommendation not to by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the superintendents said.
"There could be a scenario where schools close," Hayden Superintendent Greg Rockhold said, adding that it likely would take more than 30 percent of the district's students missing school to even begin discussing the possibility.
Just in case, teachers have been instructed to prepare lessons plans further into the future as well as prepare materials that could be easily sent home with students.
Brian Hoza, assistant campus dean of student services at Colorado Mountain College's Alpine campus, said in the event students have to miss extended periods of classroom time or if the campus was closed as a result of H1N1, college officials will attempt to make most instructional materials and lessons available online.
The superintendents also are worried that if a flu outbreak occurs in late September, it could affect the districts' official student count, taken Oct. 1. That's problematic because the official student count determines how much per-pupil funding the districts receive from the state.
Steamboat Springs School District Superintendent Shalee Cunningham said the district has been working with the Colorado Department of Education on a temporary waiver of the count if the flu creates an exorbitant number of absences.
"I can only imagine if schools across Colorado are experiencing higher-than-average absence rates, this would be an unusual year and some expectations should have to be made," Cunningham said.
Mariano said the VNA will continue to meet with the school districts. Bob Struble, director of the Routt County Office of Emergency Management, said it's important to keep up the communication. Then, in a worst-case scenario, the schools will be prepared.
"I'm hoping this won't be an emergency situation," Cunningham said.
Comments
freerider 3 years, 8 months ago
Here's a quote from Dr. Donald Miller Three serious, acknowledged adverse reactions to the flu vaccine are joint inflammation and arthritis, anaphylactic shock (and other life-threatening allergic reactions), and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a paralytic autoimmune disease that fells people several weeks after their flu shot. One woman with post-vaccination GBS writes:
"I had a flu shot in November, and by December I became weak and continued to get weaker until I collapsed and was taken to the hospital: I was helpless, totally paralyzed with Guillain-Barre syndrome: I was in ICU for three weeks and then transferred to a rehabilitation center. Three months later I was released to come home because I could ambulate approximately 100 feet with a walker. I continued rehabilitation as an outpatient for the next three months until I could walk with hand crutches. Today, I need a cane. I was not forewarned of any possible hazard when they gave me the flu shot."
Another:
"I have a friend, now in a wheelchair, who took the flu shot, got Guillain-Barre and now cannot walk."
Another woman, diagnosed with GBS after a flu shot, spent 16 months in the hospital paralyzed on a ventilator and life support. After several subsequent multi-month hospitalizations she writes:
"On my last visit to my neurologist I was able to walk about 6 feet holding his hand, not much but it took years to be able to do that. I scratch my head when I hear them promoting flu shots: Most people that I come into contact with in the hospital and out (nurses, doctors, and regular people) after hearing my story, feel that it is better to chance the flu and not get the shot." (These statements are in Vaccine Safety Manual for Concerned Families and Health Practitioners: Guide to Immunizations Risks and Protection by Neil Miller
The package inserts that come with the flu vaccine note that GBS is a potential complication. There are 1 to 2 cases of GBS per 1 million vaccinated persons. (There were 10 times that many cases of GBS in 1976 with the flu vaccine used that year). Taking a flu shot is essentially the same as buying a lottery ticket for acquiring Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Seventy percent of doctors do not get a flu shot.
Donald Miller is a cardiac surgeon and Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is a member of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness and writes articles on a variety of subjects for LewRockwell.com. His web site is www.donaldmiller.com>
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freerider 3 years, 8 months ago
you can read Dr. Millers article here...http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller27.html
freerider 3 years, 8 months ago
Another interesting story ....I wonder why newspapers only report what Big pharma wants you to hear ......Say NO to the Vaccine !!!According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the most serious and fatal cases of H1N1 have occurred in people between the ages of 30 and 50, many of whom were already ill with disorders like asthma, heart problems, diabetes, autoimmune diseases and obesity.[5]
Cases of swine flu in healthy children have been mild in nature, with little or no medical intervention required. Informed parents, given a choice, will surely opt for a mild case of the flu over the potential health risks of an inadequately tested vaccine that can potentially cause long-term devastation of your child's health, or worse.
Further, under federal legislation passed by Congress since 2001, an Emergency Use Authorization allows any company that gives experimental vaccines to Americans during a declared public health emergency to be protected from liability if people get hurt.
It is a bad idea to turn schools into medical clinics and test experimental swine flu vaccines on children first. Especially when nobody has any liability.[6] read the entire article here.....http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/08/11/Swine-Flu-is-NOT-the-Problem---It-is-the-Vaccine-that-May-Harm-or-Kill-You.aspx
freerider 3 years, 8 months ago
If you ask your doctor what's in a flu shot they can't tell you , because they don't know . Here's some of the stuff they put in it.... thimerisol that's half mercury based and has been linked to alzheimer's and autism , mercury is one of the most toxic substances you can inject in your body. Glycol , that's antifreeze , the same stuff that will kill your dog or cat that takes one lick . Squalene , here's a little note on that stuff from Dr. Mercola ..
The difference between "good" and "bad" squalene is the route by which it enters your body. Injection is an abnormal route of entry which incites your immune system to attack all the squalene in your body, not just the vaccine adjuvant.
Your immune system will attempt to destroy the molecule wherever it finds it, including in places where it occurs naturally, and where it is vital to the health of your nervous system.[viii]
Gulf War veterans with Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) received anthrax vaccines which contained squalene.[ix] MF59 (the Novartis squalene adjuvant) was an unapproved ingredient in experimental anthrax vaccines and has since been linked to the devastating autoimmune diseases suffered by countless Gulf War vets.[x] So now they are putting this stuff in the swine flu shots...BIG PHARMA stands to make 50 Billion $$ on the swine flu this year....do you really want to be a lab rat on a fast tracked vaccine
freerider 3 years, 8 months ago
So what's should we do to fight the flu . Here's more from DR. MILLER...The majority of Americans are vitamin D deficient, with a 25-hydroxy D blood level <20 ng/ml, or insufficient, with a level of 20<30 ng/ml. Cheap vitamin D supplements (D3, not D2) provide the only way most of us can maintain a year-round vitamin D blood levels greater than 50 ng/ml. That requires taking 45,000 IU of vitamin D a day (50,000 IU every ten days or 150,000 IU a month).
Taking vitamin D in these doses is safe, far safer than a flu shot with all the bad chemicals it contains. Concerns about vitamin D toxicity are overblown. One can take a 10,000 IU vitamin D supplement on a daily basis without any adverse effects. In healthy persons, long-term consumption of more than 40,000 IU a day is necessary to cause an elevation in the blood calcium level (hypercalcemia), the first manifestation of vitamin D toxicity (Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:69497). Check your vitamin D (25-hydroxy D) blood level. People with granulomatous diseases like sarcoidosis should also check their blood level of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the active form.
Can a shot (or tablets) of vitamin D prevent influenza better than a flu shot? There is good reason to believe that it can.
Doctors in India and Canada give people a once-yearly injection of 600,000 IU of vitamin D (MJA 2005;183:1012). That would be better, and safer, than having a flu shot. Daily, weekly, or monthly vitamin D tablets work just as well. For more on this subject see my article "Vitamin D in a New Light" and visit Dr. Cannell's Vitamin D Council website.
Investigators have completed one double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial that shows vitamin D prevents colds and influenza significantly better (P <0.002) than a placebo pill (Epidemiol Infection 2007;135:10956). A large multi-center randomized trial conducted over multiple flu seasons comparing vitamin D to a flu shot can show conclusively which is better, and safer. But given the financial stakes underpinning flu shots, and unpatentable vitamin D, who will fund it?
In the meantime, considering what is most likely to be the outcome of such a trial, if it is ever conducted, I recommend that you avoid flu shots and take vitamin D instead. Aviod sugar and wash your hands constantly
Duke_bets 3 years, 8 months ago
freerider - You state that there are 1 to 2 cases of GBS per million in people that have received the shot. How about the number of fatalities per million if those same people wouldn't have received the shot? Duke bets that it's significantly higher than 2.
It's fairly easy to spin a point in your favor when only one side is spoken to.
freerider 3 years, 8 months ago
Dukey . not my numbers , don't shoot the messenger , that is a report from Dr. Miller .....he's a cardiac surgeon and professor at the U of Washington , hey if you want to be a lab rat for big pharma then go for it....the swine flu issue is one sided from the other side of the fence....that would be the folks that sell it to you and they are protected against prosecution if they happen to kill you
Duke_bets 3 years, 8 months ago
freerider - I'm not questioning the statistics. I'm questioning the one-sided statistics. 1.5 people out of a million became temporarily paralyzed. And, let me stress the temporary part. Duke bets 100's out of that same million would have died without the shot. You also quoted him saying that 70% of doctors don't get the shot. Let's take a look at the entire population that is employed in the medical fields. Once again, Duke bets that well more than 50% get a flu shot annually. Doctors are a minimal percentage of that sample.
See my point. Statistics can be skewed many ways to achieve a specific result.
Jeff Kibler 3 years, 8 months ago
It's versus, not verses.
freerider 3 years, 8 months ago
Dukey you just don't get it do you , here's what they put in a flu shot , Thimerisol , that's mercury which is linked to alzheimers , glycol , that's anti freeze kills you dead , squalene , which when injected will ruin your immune system , like I said , go get a flu shot if you want to poison yourself , good luck with that .....this post is for people that would like the other side of the story....the drug companys lie and skew it in there favor so stupid Americans buy into it...your probably one of them that is scared enough to poison yourself...I read an article from the people that work at Merck , they make the stuff , that would be flu shots , nobody there will touch it...gee I wonder why
Duke_bets 3 years, 8 months ago
freerider - You are the one obviously not getting it. The stats I presented, although complete estimations, are much more accurate than the stats you posted. You use small samples to prove a point. The entire sample is what counts in medicine.
And, for a guy with a 150 IQ, I'd sure expect the correct use of 'your' verses 'you're'.
upstream 3 years, 8 months ago
freerider- i can't believe i actually agree with something dukey has written...but you are genuinely NOT getting it. The point is that ALL medications have side effects and potential complications- duh- and these need to be weighed against the benefits. A lot of people have died from penicillin- no where near the number that would have died had they not taken it. People have experienced severe adverse side effects from the polio vaccine- no where near the number of people crippled and killed by polio. Complications of chemotherapy kill people- just not as often as cancer does. It's all a bit of a gamble isn't it? Some of us look at the larger statistical outcomes and some choose to focus on specific exceptional outcomes- that is your choice as a gambler- but don't call me a "stupid American" because I choose to go with the former.
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