Flu Vaccine for 2008-2009 Flu Season
Have you ever wondered how the flu vaccine comes about? I discussed this once before in an article and now that the 2008-2009 vaccine is in the works, you can see for yourself the beginning of the process.
WHO Consultation on the Composition of Influenza Vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere 2008 - 2009
Recommended Composition Of Influenza Virus Vaccines For Use In The 2008–2009
Influenza Season
Flu Vaccines? Help or Hype?
Flu Update as of February 9th
The peak of the flu season is beginning, so there are no states unaffected. The best advice still remains to get a flu vaccine if they are still available in your area, avoid contact with infected people, be cautious about contact with groups of people and WASH YOUR HANDS frequently and thoroughly!
- Localized Outbreaks (0 states*)
- Florida
- Maine
- Washington DC (District of Columbia)
- Regionalized Outbreaks (17 states)
- California
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Widespread Outbreaks ( states)
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Sporadic Outbreaks
- None
*Including the District of Columbia
This is a good time to review handwashing techniques and things you can do to avoid catching the flu.
- Avoid close contact with people who have the flu.
- Don’t expose others - if you are sick STAY HOME!! You will get well faster this way too!
- Be polite! Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze! And use disposable tissues!
- Avoid touching your face - flu is spread through direct contact.
- WASH YOUR HANDS PROPERLY!!
Flu Update as of February 1st
The flu is active in all of the 50 U.S. States now and officials continue to urge common sense and proactive prevention. Some school districts have been closed to halt the progression of the illness. Wash your hands and limit your exposure to people who are infected!
- Localized Outbreaks (10 states*)
- Alabama
- Illinois
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- District of Columbia
- Regionalized Outbreaks (26 states)
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Washington
- Widespread Outbreaks (11 states)
- Alaska
- Kansas
- Massachusetts
- Mississippi
- New Mexico
- Pennsylvania
- Virginia
- Hawaii
- Colorado
- New York
- Texas
- Sporadic Outbreaks
- All states not listed above
*Including the District of Columbia
This is a good time to review handwashing techniques and things you can do to avoid catching the flu.
- Avoid close contact with people who have the flu.
- Don’t expose others - if you are sick STAY HOME!! You will get well faster this way too!
- Be polite! Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze! And use disposable tissues!
- Avoid touching your face - flu is spread through direct contact.
- WASH YOUR HANDS PROPERLY!!
Why No Flu in Southern New Jersey?
I can’t explain it and apparently the CDC can’t either. The southern half of New Jersey is virtually clear of this year’s outbreak of seasonal flu.
New Jersey does show on the report of widespread outbreak because the northern half of the state is affected. Tom Slater, the spokesman for the State of New Jersey Health and Human Services Department says, “There is still time to get a flu shot. There is more vaccine available this year than any other.” Unfortunately that isn’t true for all areas of the country. My personal residential town has been out of the flu vaccine for several weeks and they are not planning on any more arriving this flu season.
Typically 36,000 people die each year from the flu. Most of the victims are elderly people. The flu is mostly spread by children. An average of 226,000 people are hospitalized annually from infection by the flu.
Region Immune to Widespread Flu Activity So Far
Flu Update as of January 25th
Sorry Vermont, but this week flu reached your state which has been flu free until now. The flu is active in all of the 50 U.S. States and officials continue to urge common sense and proactive prevention. Wash your hands and limit your exposure to people who are infected!
- Localized Outbreaks (18 states*)
- Alabama
- Florida
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Washington DC
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Regionalized Outbreaks (17 states)
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Washington State
- Widespread Outbreaks (6 states)
- New Jersey
- Virginia
- Hawaii
- Colorado
- New York
- Texas
- Sporadic Outbreaks
- All states not listed above
*Including the District of Columbia
This is a good time to review handwashing techniques and things you can do to avoid catching the flu.
- Avoid close contact with people who have the flu.
- Don’t expose others - if you are sick STAY HOME!! You will get well faster this way too!
- Be polite! Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze! And use disposable tissues!
- Avoid touching your face - flu is spread through direct contact.
- WASH YOUR HANDS PROPERLY!!
Flu Update as of January 18th
As the old song says, “Everybody’s doing it!” And every state, save one, has had the flu hit. In simple terms, that means every time you leave your house, unless you live in Vermont, you are being exposed to the flu.
- Localized Outbreaks (15 states)
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Washington
- Regionalized Outbreaks (10 states)
- Massachusetts
- Connecticut
- New Jersey
- Montana
- Rhode Island
- Pennsylvania
- California
- Arkansas
- Arizona
- Alaska
- Widespread Outbreaks (4 states)
- Texas
- New York
- Hawaii
- Colorado
- Sporadic Outbreaks
- All states not listed above
This is a good time to review handwashing techniques and things you can do to avoid catching the flu.
- Avoid close contact with people who have the flu.
- Don’t expose others - if you are sick STAY HOME!! You will get well faster this way too!
- Be polite! Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze! And use disposable tissues!
- Avoid touching your face - flu is spread through direct contact.
- WASH YOUR HANDS PROPERLY!!
Check back here - I will have a weekly update on how the flu is progressing through the United States.
CDC & Juvaris Partner to Create More Effective Vaccine
There is a lot of confusion about the flu. Put in a nutshell, here are the basic facts of what people mean when they talk about “The Flu.
- Seasonal Flu
- Pandemic Flu
- Avian Flu
Seasonal flu is the one that goes around every year. Each year the virus varies. It runs it course and winds down. Flu shots given at public health clinics and physician offices, are immunizations for the seasonal flu.
Pandemic flu is a new virus that appears that has not been seen before and thus when it hits the population of the world, no one has any resistance built up against it and there is no vaccine to protect anyone. It is a completely new disease. The last flu pandemic was in 1918. That particular flu killed many thousands of people worldwide, affected the economy, and ultimately played a role in the course of World War I.
Avian flu is an influenza virus that currently ONLY affects bird populations. It is contagious bird-to-bird, and there have been isolated cases of bird-to-person transmission, but by and large, it remains confined to the bird population.
So why does everyone talk about avian flu and pandemic flu in the same breath? The risk is that we are due for a flu pandemic. Experts feel that it is overdue and the time has come that it is reasonable to expect a pandemic. With Avian Flu in the equation, the risk is that Avian Flu will mutate slightly and become contagious on a new level: Person-to-person. When that occurs the likelihood of a pandemic flu epidemic is highly probable.
The CDC has partnered with Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Inc., to extend the supply of H5N1 vaccines to cover a larger population should a pandemic break out.
Because high doses of vaccine are needed to trigger an immune response to bird flu, stocks of existing vaccines could be run down quickly in a pandemic. By using JVRS-100 as a kind of booster, smaller doses could be used and the stocks of the existing vaccines might last longer, the company said.
San Francisco Business Times
Hopefully the claims of the company will prove true. It is believed by Juvaris that their adjuvant will provide greater protection and reduce the numbers of affected populations, and ultimately decrease the mortality rate of a pandemic flu epidemic.
Flu Vaccines? Help or Hype?
There are two sides to every story and the flu vaccine is no exception. Everywhere you go, there are posters encouraging the American population to get a flu shot. They hang in doctor’s offices, hospitals, pharmacies, public health clinics, day care centers and just about anywhere people tend to congregate. And it makes sense, at least on the surface. Flu can be deadly. Get a flu shot and greatly reduce your chances of being one of 36,000 Americans killed by the flu annually.
But does the flu shot really work as advertised?
This poster, produced by Sandofi Pasteur, a pharmaceutical company, explains the process that is undertaken to create a flu vaccine each year. It sounds good. And without a doubt it is labor intensive. But this poster doesn’t tell the whole story.
CNN reported on the controversy surrounding the flu shot and brought up the issues of how the strains of flu that the shot is intended to cover each year is essentially guesswork. According to the CNN report, “In 2003-2004, the CDC admitted that it completely missed the virulent Fujian flu strain that hit hard that winter.”
The report also pointed out that two recent studies have found that one of the population groups that is strongly encouraged to get a flu shot, may be a group that has the least effective response to the vaccine: People with compromised immune systems.
It is a difficult decision for the health consumer. Information of contradictory nature seems to be coming to light everyday. And it is impossible to make a truly informed decision when so much of the information that is presented to the public is based on the fiscal needs of a pharmaceutical company.
Read both articles. Do your homework and then talk to your physician about the flu vaccine. Whatever you decide to do, whether to accept or reject the immunization, be as informed as possible with the guidance of a medical professional that you trust.