US: 160 million swine flu vaccine doses in October

johnnymk · 07-24-2009, 02:33 PM

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news...n-october.html

Federal health officials say the U.S. expects to have 160 million doses of swine flu vaccine available sometime in October _ if all goes well.

That's despite continued bad production from manufacturers around the world. The chief ingredient for vaccine is grown in chicken eggs, and companies are getting far fewer doses per egg than is usual with regular winter flu.

Another complication: That 160 million estimate assumes a low dose will work. Studies will begin in a few weeks to see if this new vaccine will protect with a low dose or if people will need a higher one. Scientists also expect people will need two separate inoculations, about a month apart, for protection.

Federal health officials say the new swine flu isn't yet mutating to become more dangerous, but they're closely tracking that as the virus continues to circle the globe.

Dr. Nancy Cox of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls it "quite surprising" that more genetic variation hasn't emerged given the virus' quick spread _ sickening more than an estimated million people in the U.S. alone since April.

People under 25 get sick most often, although most of the 262 deaths recorded in the U.S. so far have been in 25- to 49-year-olds. People older than 65 have far lower risk of getting sick _ perhaps because of years of exposure to viruses in the same influenza family.

zippyjuan · 07-24-2009, 07:00 PM

Unless it mutates, the Swine flu issue is extremely over hyped. More people die every day from everyday common strains of the flu than have died from the Swine flu in its entire outbreak. Believe it or not some 40,000 (yes- thousand) people die from flu and flu related complication just in the US every year.
http://www.flufacts.com/impact/statistics.aspx

Quote:

INFLUENZA STATISTICS
The flu isn’t always thought of as a serious or life-threatening illness. Because of the dangers and complications it can have in older people, children, and people with health problems, the perception of flu severity is changing.

In the U.S., an estimated 25–50 million cases of the flu are currently reported each year — leading to 150,000 hospitalizations and 30,000–40,000 deaths yearly. If these figures were to be estimated incorporating the rest of the world, there would be an average of approximately 1 billion cases of flu, around 3–5 million cases of severe illness, and 300,000–500,000 deaths annually.

Flu-related deaths can result from pneumonia and from exacerbations of cardiopulmonary conditions and other chronic diseases. Deaths of older adults account for more than 90% of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza.

WhiskeyPapa · 07-25-2009, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zippyjuan

Believe it or not some 40,000 (yes- thousand) people die from flu and flu related complication just in the US every year.

I believe it - but simply because 300,000 people die every day. If we snapped our fingers and eliminated the flu, those 40k would still die of something.

07-24-2009, 02:33 PM	#1
johnnymk Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: May 2000 Location: LEVITTOWN< PA> USA Posts: 13,621	US: 160 million swine flu vaccine doses in October http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news...n-october.html Federal health officials say the U.S. expects to have 160 million doses of swine flu vaccine available sometime in October _ if all goes well. That's despite continued bad production from manufacturers around the world. The chief ingredient for vaccine is grown in chicken eggs, and companies are getting far fewer doses per egg than is usual with regular winter flu. Another complication: That 160 million estimate assumes a low dose will work. Studies will begin in a few weeks to see if this new vaccine will protect with a low dose or if people will need a higher one. Scientists also expect people will need two separate inoculations, about a month apart, for protection. Federal health officials say the new swine flu isn't yet mutating to become more dangerous, but they're closely tracking that as the virus continues to circle the globe. Dr. Nancy Cox of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls it "quite surprising" that more genetic variation hasn't emerged given the virus' quick spread _ sickening more than an estimated million people in the U.S. alone since April. People under 25 get sick most often, although most of the 262 deaths recorded in the U.S. so far have been in 25- to 49-year-olds. People older than 65 have far lower risk of getting sick _ perhaps because of years of exposure to viruses in the same influenza family.

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