Swine Flu & Other Pandemics

Seasonal Flu Shot Triggers Dystonia in Healthy, Active 25-Year-Old

October 12, 2009

Loudoun Times-Mirror (Ashburn, Virginia) - Desiree Jennings can whisper softly, but not talk loudly. She can -- once she gets going -- run several miles, but she can’t walk the first five feet normally. She can move sideways and backward, but not forward. Desiree can still hope and dream, but realizes that her life the way it was may never come back.

Desiree, of Ashburn, is a one-in-a-million person. Tragically so.

She is “the one.” Apparently, the one person in a million, according to the Centers for Disease Control, who may have developed severe and possibly life-threatening side effects from getting a seasonal flu vaccine seven weeks ago at a Safeway in Reston.

It’s easy to understand why Desiree felt compelled to get a flu shot. Warnings that this fall would see a harsh seasonal flu season -- compounded by growing concerns about the impact of the new H1N1 flu -- have driven healthy people to get inoculated, and especially those in defined high-risk groups.

Then, the statistics: 36,000 die annually of the seasonal flu; 200,000 people will be hospitalized with the flu; and more than 100 million seasonal flu vaccinations will be given. Loudoun's health director, Dr. David Goodfriend, has already gotten his, as well as his H1N1 vaccination.

Already, since Aug. 30, the CDC reports about 950 people have died from flu-associated pneumonia or flu symptoms.



Desiree, a young, healthy and active 25-year-old, says she was not in a high-risk group, had no pre-existing, underlying health issues, and was not on medication at the time of her shot. Since April, Desiree has also been a Washington Redskins “Ambassador” – a physically demanding job that trains you to one day become a full cheerleader.

As for the seasonal flu shot, she got it to earn "healthy living" points for her work health plan, which gives perks for each level of "wellness" that is attained.

The shot in the arm itself, on Aug. 23, was uneventful. Ten days later, Desiree says she got flu-like symptoms – fever, vomiting, weakness in her legs and body aches.

On returning to work at AOL after Labor Day, she was even more fatigued. She passed out at work, and again at home. Her husband, Brendan, rushed her to Urgent Care nearby as she went into convulsions. She was immediately transferred to Inova Loudoun Hospital, where she spent three days.

The doctors ran test after test, and asked question after question. She was screened for Lyme disease, lupus and other ailments. All came back negative.

Desiree proceeded to go back to Inova Loudoun Hospital, then Inova Fairfax Hospital, then Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, to see specialists. None could give a diagnosis. She estimates she has seen 60 medical personnel since mid-September.

Desiree has seen her primary care physician, physical therapists, speech therapists, neurologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists and a bevy of nurses.

Amazingly, it was her physical therapist who provided the clinical diagnosis: Dystonia.

While sounding like a fictional land from a J.R.R. Tolkien novel, Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder in which sustained muscle contractions cause body jerks, and abnormal or repetitive movements. The disorder may be inherited or caused by other factors such as physical trauma, infection, poisoning, or reaction to drugs.

Desiree is convinced that in her case, the dystonia was triggered by the seasonal flu shot. Her doctors at Inova Fairfax and Johns Hopkins hospitals agree that it was likely the adverse reaction to the flu shot that caused her condition.

Dystonia requires the learning of a new way of living, and relearning even the most basic routines. It’s also rare, and not completely understood. As for cures – none exists. As for treatment, it’s basically limited to minimizing symptoms of the disorder.

Desiree is in the process of trying out a cocktail of medications, to see what mix works. “Sensory tricks” also help manage the spasms, though she is still afflicted by a handful of serious seizures and convulsions, and 20 to 30 minor ones, every day.

To minimize the stimuli, which cause convulsions, she often has to wear soundproof headphones around the house and listen to music; Coldplay often does the trick. Understandably, she eschews techno or rap. Without headphones, multiple stimuli – say, a phone ringing combined with loud TV noises – will send her into a seizure.

She also finds solace in posting updates on Facebook, along with short videos of her condition – many of which are startling. This has attracted offers of expert help from neurologists willing to take on her case. This social media platform has been her one-stop shop for communications, information, and support – always a click away and 24/7. It’s also free – and paperless.

Offline, it’s anything but paperless. At Desiree’s feet is a black, plastic accordion folder already bursting with health-care documents. It's getting bigger by the day.

It’s understandable how Desiree now feels about the seasonal flu shot. “Don’t get it if you’re healthy” and not at risk, she implores. She claims doctors at Fairfax and Johns Hopkins hospitals agree.

At the Loudoun health department, Goodfriend has a different take. While he sympathizes greatly with Desiree’s case, “we know in Loudoun if no one got vaccinated, more would get sick, and potentially more would die.”

“There are always rare side effects,” Goodfriend says. “But seasonal flu is a major killer of otherwise healthy people.” He strongly believes that any risk associated with a flu shot is “outweighed” by the benefits it provides.

Desiree and Brendan have always had a kind of prohibition policy on crying. But not a day in the past 30 has been "dry."

“You realize your life is never going to come back the way it was,” Desiree says, looking out her kitchen window onto a Brambleton street scene. “My goal in life was to one day be a CEO. Now, I don’t know if I can ever return back to work.”

With a new dose of tears welling up in her auburn-colored eyes, Desire looks down, and says:

“Every day for me is a struggle to even want to live.”

But she goes on. Even knowing she is -- possibly, sadly -- on the wrong side of being "one in a million."

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Statewide H1N1 Vaccine Provider Registration System

October 13, 2009

Business Wire - Supporting directives from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Upp Software, a business unit of Upp Technology, Inc., has developed, delivered and now offers a Statewide H1N1 Vaccine Provider Registration System to accommodate thousands of vaccine providers’ ordering and reporting needs.

The CDC has advised State and local Public Health authorities to accelerate their outreach plans, and to put in place mechanisms and vaccination venues appropriate to reach groups most likely to be included in a vaccination program against pandemic H1N1 Influenza. The agency has also advised the States of related data collection and reporting requirements, and has asked each State to identify and/or develop systems to collect this mission-critical Public Health information.

Built on our proven Public Health Solutions platform, Upp’s IRMS H1N1 Vaccine Provider Registration System provides online registration for healthcare providers such as medical practitioners and pharmacies, including demographic information, contact details, hours of operation, storage available, etc. This data, coupled with demographics at the State, regional, county and jurisdictional level, allows each State to apportion their allocated H1N1 vaccines by the CDC’s immunization prioritized population groups.

Using the embedded Decision Support System, multiple vaccines can be allocated systematically to regions, counties and providers based on the doses available, the demographic data and other such criteria. This includes system recalculation of allocations, as additional vaccine becomes available, demographics change, and providers are added or removed.

Through the IRMS Web Portal, providers electronically approve orders for vaccine with the option to accept the allocations or adjust quantities. Approved orders are sent electronically to vaccine distributors directly or via the CDC’s VACMAN system. Providers then submit the doses administered and destroyed through the online Web Portal for reporting back to the CDC.

Corporate Media: Is Not Taking the Vaccine Unethical?

October 11, 2009

Infowars - The vaccination propaganda is now kicking into overdrive. Earlier today, I switched on the tube and randomly hit two news channels — CNN and Fox — and there was the get the vaccine propaganda. Both channels told me to get the vaccine. Both downplayed the “myths” and “disinformation” about the dangers of the seasonal and H1N1 vaccines.

Supposed experts interviewed by ABC News claim it is unethical to refuse the vaccine. “Does Americans’ right to determine what is best for themselves and their families trump the federal government’s efforts to head off what it believes could be a flu pandemic?” writes Patrick Jonsson for ABC News. “The US government says it has no intention of forcing vaccinations, but its entire flu strategy could be undermined – endangering public health, they say – if a substantial portion of the US population opts out of the $3 billion program.”

The corporate media’s own polls reveal that around two-thirds of parents have serious reservations about the vaccines’ effectiveness and safety. Millions of people simply distrust the government and do not buy into the propaganda.

“Many of the concerns by parents are based on the perception that this vaccine has been rushed into production and may not be safe,” Tom Skinner, a CDC spokesman, told Fox News. “We understand parents’ concerns – they want what is best for their children. We often tell people the best antidote for fear is information. And we ask them to really seek out sound and reliable information from sources they trust.”

According to the CDC, parents need to stop listening to a large number of doctors and virologists who say the vaccines are dangerous and instead get their information exclusively from the corporate media.

The government and the corporate media hate the idea millions of Americans are doing their own research before sticking a needle in their kids. “Just get your damn vaccine,” demanded Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC’s chief medical editor. Snyderman dropped all pretense and revealed the real attitude of the government and the Mockingbird corporate media.

How dare you question the government. Just shut up and roll up your sleeve.



Now you will be told it is irresponsible and unethical not to get a vaccine loaded up with mercury, squalene, preservatives, “attenuated” viruses, and formaldehyde.

James Hodge, a public health law expert at the Arizona State University, told ABC News questioning the vaccination is “just not responsible.” While some objections to vaccinations are warranted, he says, “we’re also seeing an increasing feeling among some Americans that we shouldn’t trust government on this, and that vaccines themselves are the cause of major harm, even though that connection doesn’t exist,” at least it does not exist according to the government and a corporate media that takes a large percentage of its advertising revenue from multinational pharmaceutical corporations.

Officials have stopped short of calling vaccination a moral imperative, instead urging Americans to think deeply about their perceptions and the communal impact of their decisions, according to ABC.

Stopped short… for now. In the weeks ahead, as the multi-million dollar government and big pharma propaganda effort picks up steam, we may be told it is selfish, irresponsible, unethical and immoral not to take the shot. A number of states have passed legislation allowing the government to quarantine those who refuse.

It all hinges on the severity of the flu pandemic this autumn and the hysteria generated by the government and the media. “Just get your damn vaccine” may turn into the government forcing you to take the shot at gunpoint as the propaganda effort fails and millions of people refuse.

The Resistance Mounts

October 10, 2009

LRC Blog - We can only hope that people are hip to the government’s vaccination con. They’re figuring out that the swine flu is only a flu, with short-term effects, and the to-be-mandatory vaccination can be deadly or cause serious health problems, and the effects will be long-term.

At the same time, the tyrant planners in the government urge mass inoculation so they can stick you before you have a chance to think for yourself about the vaccination, its non-benefits, and its potential for disastrous effects. This week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius once again again urged people to line up for the dope, saying it is “secure and safe.” This is one thing that the Government-Big Pharma-Disinformation complex did not want to happen. Too much time has passed before their vaccination program could be delivered, and it was enough time for the disinformation to be replaced by the facts, with the truth being discovered by the masses. And now that John and Jane America are armed with valuable information – thanks to the Internet – the mass inoculation, by force, is losing its grip and the hysteria is waning.

In the workplace, I was dragged into a conversation by a fella who wanted my opinion on the whole swine flu vaccination ploy. Now keep in mind that I rarely discuss my ideas – only with a few people – in the workplace. It’s just not in the cards to get into ideological matters on the job, because most people are so adverse to hard-hitting truths. When I gave my pitch – I think people were surprised at my immediate informed response, though not my views – I got a high five, and also, I discovered just how many people are starting to get it.

Ever since the financial meltdown, and all the ensuing government takeovers, totalitarian decrees, and socialist central planning contrivances, people are waking up to the causes of the problems and the agenda of the disinformers. During the past year I have come across so many people in public, in the workplace, and those who email me, who have opened their eyes, built a very healthy skepticism, and are becoming informed to a degree that makes me know that all that we have been doing to expose the lies of the state and its collaborators has been to the good. In the least, people have become interested in these issues and they are undertaking deep dives into some of the details. I have never before witnessed this level of interest and awareness among the masses. No wonder the state hates the Internet.

U.S. Flu Study Confirms H1N1 More Serious in Youth

October 8, 2009

Reuters - A study of people who became seriously ill and died with the new pandemic swine flu confirms it is hitting a younger population than the seasonal flu and causes often different symptoms.

The study of 272 patients sick enough to be hospitalized showed about 40 percent had diarrhea and vomiting -- usually rare with seasonal flu -- and confirmed that quick treatment with antivirals could save lives.

Dr. Seema Jain of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who led the study, said the findings had informed the CDC's advice on who should worry about the new H1N1 virus and when to get treatment.

"Of the 272 patients we studied, 25 percent were admitted to an intensive care unit and 7 percent died," Jain's team wrote in the report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

They said 45 percent were children under 18, just 5 percent were over 65 and 73 percent had at least one underlying condition such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease and pregnancy.

The soonest any of the patients who died were treated with an antiviral drug was three days after they started showing symptoms, the researchers found. Patients treated earlier all survived.

Roche AG's Tamiflu or GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza should be given within 48 hours of symptoms to be the most effective. But Jain said it was never too late to try.

"We really believe that antivirals should be started as soon as possible in patients who are hospitalized," Jain said in a telephone interview.

Even if patients do not have the traditional risk factors for serious disease, they should get antiviral drugs if they are sick enough to be hospitalized, Jain said.

The cases her team examined represented about a quarter of the hospitalized H1N1 patients in the United States between May 1 and June 9 of this year, before the epidemic was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

All the patients had fever and cough, 42 percent of the children had diarrhea or vomiting, and all of the patients 65 and older had an underlying condition. Some studies suggest people born before 1952 have some immunity to the H1N1 virus.

Of those whose height and weight were available, 29 percent were obese and 26 percent were morbidly obese. Jain said the percentage of people who were obese reflected the general U.S. population, but only 5 percent of the population is morbidly obese.

Some other studies have suggested that morbid obesity -- defined as having a body mass index or BMI of 40 or higher -- may raise a person's risk of serious complications and death from H1N1. Jain said that question needed more study.

The study found that 7 percent of the hospitalized patients died, and all of those who died had been on ventilators. Those who died ranged in age from 1 year to 57 years.

Those who died were more likely to have been short of breath, to have pneumonia, a neurological disorder or acute respiratory distress syndrome. They were also less likely to have received a seasonal flu vaccine over the past year.

In its weekly report on death and disease, another CDC team found that 41 percent of children aged 6 months to 2 years got a seasonal flu vaccine last year, 32 percent of 2- to 4-year-olds, 20 percent of other children aged up to 17, 32 percent of young adults, 42 percent of 50- to 64-year-olds and 67 percent of those over 65 -- who have the highest risk of severe illness or death from seasonal flu.

The Shot Is the Pandemic: Swine Flu Vaccines and the CBC

October 8, 2009

Infowars - I was recently contacted by the CBC for an interview regarding swine flu vaccines. After doing a 20 minute phone interview, I set it up for the CBC to come film our street actions with Toronto Truth Seekers. The CBC spent an hour and a half with us gathering information for their story on swine flu vaccinations. Press For Truth documented everything.

Government to Use Swine Flu for Another Control Mechanism

October 9, 2009

LRC Blog - The government wants to take your temperature and/or scan you for the swine flu before you board a plane. In fact, they want you to have a “health screening.” From the Flu.gov website:

Due to the outbreak of H1N1 (Swine) flu occurring in the United States and many other countries, airport staff in some countries may check the health of arriving passengers. Travelers from the United States arriving in other countries may be checked for fever and other symptoms of H1N1 (Swine) flu, and their travel may be delayed.

According to the Militarized Flu Police, you may be asked to:

• Pass through a scanning device that checks your temperature (the device may look like an airport metal detector, a camera, or a handheld device)
• Have your temperature taken with an oral or ear thermometer
• Fill out a sheet of questions about your health
• Review information about the symptoms of H1N1 (Swine) flu
• Give your address, phone number, and other contact information
• Be quarantined for a period of time if a passenger on your flight is found to have symptoms of H1N1 (Swine) flu
• Contact health authorities in the country you are visiting to let them know if you become ill

If you have a “fever or respiratory symptoms” you may be asked to:

1) be isolated from others,
2) submit to a medical examination,
3) take a rapid flu test with a nasal swab sample (!),
4) be hospitalized and given medical treatment if you test positive for H1N1.

I just listened to some nutcase proponent of this tyranny who was interviewed on FOX radio, and he called this “a sound public decision” and a “wise step.” The poor creep doesn’t “want to get on a plane next to someone who is sneezing and wheezing.” The analyst for FOX: “It does, in a way, make sense.”

Indeed, we are living in sick times and we are surrounded by sick minds.

Japan Company Sells Anti-H1N1 Suit (Video)

October 8, 2009

Reuters - Japanese menswear company Haruyama Trading has developed a suit that it claims can protect wearers from the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.

Swine Flu Vaccine Campaign Begins

CDC director tries to end fear factor over H1N1

October 7, 2009

NBC Channel 4 (Washington, DC) - The swine flu vaccine is ready – are you?

Children in several states began to receive nasal sprays to ward off the H1N1 virus yesterday with 2.4 million doses of vaccine set to hit the country by the end of the week, The New York Times reported.

But Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said a new public health threat has already emerged: misinformation on blogs and talk radio that the disease is “mild” and its vaccine untested.

“On average, flu is not a ‘mild’ illness — it can make you pretty sick, knock you out for a day or two or three [and even kill],” Frieden told the paper. He added that the vaccine’s “seed strain” was made and tested the same way as seasonal flu shots and without serious side effects.

The Centers For Disease "CREATION" Announces First Swine Flu Vaccines Will Be "Nasal Spray"

September 18, 2009

healthtruthrevealed.com - Looks like Big Pharma is intent on making sure H1N1 goes airborne as quickly as possible so it can spread and contaminate the general population and cause the pandemic that doesn't currently exist.

According to the CDC the first swine flu vaccine that will come on the market will be the FluMist nasal spray version made by MedImmune. An estimated 3.4 million doses are expected to be ready by early October.

According to the AP, "Flu shots are made of killed influenza virus, while FluMist is a live but weakened strain."

Does anyone with any common sense question this insanity? They are planning on spraying this vaccine in pharmacies and retail stores throughout America, and we are supposed to believe that when they start spraying "live but weakened strains" of H1N1 up the noses of millions of people in stores that somehow it won't be responsible for spreading the flu. Can someone explain how this won't lead to H1N1 viruses blowing around the store or getting into the air ducts?

If you're out shopping in CVS, Wal-Greens, Wal-Mart, Target or any other big retail store that will be offering this vaccine in about two weeks, you may be directly exposed to H1N1 "live but weakened strains." It will be blowing around in the air of every store administering this vaccine. This sounds a lot like playing Russian Roulette.

If you want to know why the FluMist nasal spray vaccine is a serious gamble and a serious culprit in spreading the flu, read Dr. Tenpenny's article "Risk of Flu Mist Vaccine" here.

Wake Up America!

Doctors Concerned FluMist Vaccine Could Spread Live H1N1 Virus

October 6, 2009

Prison Planet.com - Doctors and hospitals are expressing concern that the FluMist vaccine could endanger people because it contains live H1N1 virus, unlike the injectable shot that contains antibodies. With no less than 60 per cent of the U.S. population immunodeficient in one way or another, could FluMist be a pandemic waiting to happen?

Hospitals in Colorado and elsewhere are shunning the FluMist H1N1 vaccine, a nasal spray that contains live swine flu virus, because of fears it could infect people with weakened immune systems and underlying health conditions.

“Several metro area hospitals said they won’t be taking the FluMist because they don’t want to endanger patients,” reports TheDenverChannel.com.

Lois VanFleet, infection prevention specialist at Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette, expressed concern that doctors and nurses who inhaled the live virus could infect patients whose immune systems are compromised.

However, H1N1 FluMist is being rolled out nationwide from this week, including at “drive-through clinics” across the country where the nasal spray is administered while people sit in their cars with their window wide open (see top picture).

The live virus contained in the nasal spray is weakened but it can be transmitted from person to person for up to three weeks.

According to studies, “the odds of transmitting the virus after receiving the nasal spray are about 2.5 percent,” with children the most susceptible.

The nasal spray is being rolled out on a mass scale before the widespread introduction of the injectable vaccine. Some fear that the nasal spray will contribute to a wider pandemic, which will then provide governments with the crisis they need to make the injectable vaccine mandatory.

“This would accelerate the move to a state of emergency, cripple the US health care system, and would result in the “need” to have military, eventually UN troops, take control,” notes TheFluCase.com.

“Also, all public assemblies, including courts, would be prohibited, thereby satisfying a condition for the imposition of martial law, mass quarantines, and forced vaccinations for the rest of us.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, the swine flu scandal of 1976, when more people died from the vaccine than the actual virus, was what caused the live virus to be removed from future vaccines. However, it is admitted that FluMist contains the live virus.

“It has been documented that the live viruses from the vaccine can be shed (and potentially spread into the community) from recipient children for up to 21 days, and even longer from adults. Viral shedding also puts breastfeeding infants at risk if the mother has been given FluMist,” writes Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, one of the most outspoken physicians in the country on the hazards of vaccines and vaccination.

FluMist’s own package insert reads as follows, “FluMist® recipients should avoid close contact with immunocompromised individuals for at least 21 days.”

“The warning is specifically directed toward those living in the same household with an immunocompromised person, but the on-going release of live viruses throughout the community may be a significant risk to everyone who has a weak, or weakened, immune system,” writes Tenpenny, pointing out that if one takes into account a plethora of health conditions that could be classified as contributing to immunodeficiency, as much as 60% of the entire population could be considered to be “chemically immunosuppressed.”

“An ever greater concern about FluMist is the contents within the vaccine. Each 0.5ml of the formula contains 10 6.5-7.5 particles of live, attenuated influenza virus. That means that between 10 million and 100 million viral particles will be forcefully injected into the nostrils when administered. The viral strain was developed by serial passage through “specific pathogen-free primary chick kidney cells” and then grown in “specific pathogen-free eggs.”

That means that the culture media was free of pathogens that were specifically tested for, but not a culture that was necessarily “pathogen-free.” The risk that the vaccine may contain contaminant avian retroviruses still remains,” warns Tenpenny.

One of the pharmaceutical companies developing nasal spray vaccines is Baxter International, who were caught earlier this year releasing batches of vaccines from a lab in Austria that were contaminated live bird flu virus, otherwise known as H5N1.

The video below outlines further concerns regarding FluMist and the nasal spray vaccine in general.

Hospitals Concerned H1N1 Nasal Spray Vaccine Could Spread 'Live' Virus

October 6, 2009

ABC 7NEWS (Denver, Colo.) - It now looks like Colorado’s first batch of H1N1 vaccine won’t arrive until Thursday. That’s when an estimated 54,000 doses of FluMist will be doled out to county health departments. Those departments, in turn, will deliver the mist to hospitals and clinics which have applied for the vaccine.

But several metro area hospitals said they won’t be taking the FluMist because they don’t want to endanger patients.

When asked if that meant that FluMist was dangerous, Lois VanFleet, infection prevention specialist at Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette said:

"No, it's a very safe vaccine in healthy people."

But, she said it’s made with a live virus, and that doctors and nurses who inhaled the live virus could shed some of it on patients whose immune systems are compromised.
VanFleet said the staffs at Lutheran, St. Joseph’s and Good Samaritan Medical Centers will wait for the injected vaccine.

"The injected vaccine is made with antibodies, not live virus," she said.

Adam Dormuth said, "It's the same at National Jewish Medical Center. FluMist is not to be used on immuno-suppressed patients. A good number of ours are."

Once the first batch of vaccine arrives in Colorado, it will be given to people based on priority. State health officials told 7NEWS that the highest priorities for the 2009 H1N1 vaccine include:

• Pregnant women
• Household contacts of children under 6 months of age
• Health care workers with patient care responsibilities
• Children between 6 months and 4 years of age
• Children 5 years to 18 years of age with underlying risk conditions

Since FluMist is not recommended for pregnant woman, expectant moms will have to wait for the injected vaccine. It should begin arriving in Colorado later this month according to the state health department.

Several local pediatricians told 7NEWS their phones are ringing off the hook with calls from parents inquiring about vaccinations for their children.

First Doses of H1N1 Flu Vaccine Arrive

October 5, 2009

CNN - A national campaign to inoculate tens of millions of Americans against H1N1 influenza began Monday, with health care workers in Indiana and Tennessee targeted as the first recipients, federal health authorities said.

“I think the world has watched history unfold,” Dr. Judy Monroe, Indiana’s state health commissioner, told reporters at Wishard Hospital in Indianapolis.

Earlier Monday, the hospital received a shipment of 52 boxes — each containing 100 pre-filled sprayers.

“This first 5,200 doses that came to Marion County is really just the tip of the iceberg,” Monroe said.

Health Director Virginia Caine said the shipment will be split among the county’s hospitals.

A similar scene unfolded at LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis, Tennessee, where three children have died from H1N1, sometimes referred to as swine flu.

Jennilyn Utkov, a spokeswoman for LeBonheur, said the hospital received about 100 doses. By noon, the supply had been depleted.

The vaccines shipped to both sites and to a few other places around the nation are the first of some 195 million doses the U.S. government has purchased from five vaccine manufacturers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Dr. Jay Butler told reporters at the Indianapolis event. That number includes both spray and injectable forms.

Butler, who heads the agency's 2009 H1N1 Vaccine Task Force, has promised there will be enough for anyone who wants it. Butler said vaccine makers will ship 10 million to 20 million doses per week over the next couple of months.

"Is that fast enough?" he asked. "No, but it's what's feasible. It's what can be done."

Monroe predicted that an ample supply of the injectable form will be available by mid-October.

Last week, the CDC said it had received reports of 60 deaths of children related to H1N1 flu since April; 11 of those deaths were reported last week alone.

From August 30 until September 26, the agency tallied 16,174 hospitalizations nationwide and 1,379 deaths associated with influenza virus infection.

The 27 states reporting widespread flu activity are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.

Nearly all of the viruses identified so far are H1N1, the agency said in a posting on its Web site...

U.S. Rolls Out Massive Swine Flu Vaccination Campaign

October 3, 2009

AFP – US health authorities are hoping to contain what they say is an intensifying swine flu pandemic with a massive (H1N1) vaccination campaign starting this week.

"We expect Friday in our weekly update of FluView that we will be reporting substantial flu illness in most of the country, significant flu activity in virtually all states," said Anne Schuchat, director of the Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

"Most states do have quite a lot of disease right now, and that is unusual for this time of the year," she said at a press conference on Friday evening.

Schuchat also shared her concern over the serious risks facing pregnant women infected with the virus, whose risk of dying from the (H1N1) strain is effectively six times higher than for the general population. Between April and August, 100 pregnant women in the United States who contracted the virus were admitted to intensive care, and 28 died, Schuchat said.

According to the most recent figures released by the CDC, 10,082 people have been hospitalized with swine flu in the United States so far, with 936 deaths from the virus, including 36 children.

An analysis of post-mortem samples from 77 people who died from the virus showed that most had contracted a secondary infection; a third had pneumonia, for which there is no vaccine.

Schuchat reiterated the importance of vaccination for pregnant women and other groups considered particularly vulnerable to the virus, including children, young adults up to 24 years old, and those suffering from certain other chronic medical problems.

US health authorities on Friday announced plans for a massive vaccination campaign intended to protect millions of Americans, with the first distribution of 600,000 vaccine doses set for Tuesday, two weeks ahead of schedule.

The United States expects to quickly dispense some six or seven million doses and hopes to administer 250 million doses by the end of the year. Clinical trials carried out on five different vaccines showed that a single dose of 15 micrograms is sufficient to cause an efficient immune response.

"We are transitioning from the planning phase to the implementation phase," Schuchat said. "This is really just the beginning."

Health professionals have welcomed the sooner-than-expected debut of the vaccine, hoping that the immunization will be able to protect millions of people at risk because of cardiac disease, obesity or asthma.

The first vaccine doses are being made available in the form of nasal sprays that take effect in about eight days.

But despite the early arrival of the vaccine, some 15 US states, including some of the most populated such as California, could run out of hospital beds if just 35 percent of the population becomes infected with the virus, according to a CDC information model. The figure was calculated based on the 1968 flu pandemic, which was considered fairly mild, and is based on the assumption that the infection period would last eight weeks.

A recent report by the White House's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which modeled the outcomes of an infection rate of 30 percent, found up to 1.8 million Americans could require hospitalization and some 30,000 could die.

That figure would be lower than the average of 36,000 Americans who die annually from seasonal flu, which usually begins around October.

U.S. Swine Flu Vaccinations Start Oct. 6

September 25, 2009

WebMD Health News - Vaccinations against H1N1 swine flu will start on Oct. 6, CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, said today.

Nearly all of the first 6 million doses of swine flu vaccine are the FluMist nasal spray vaccine. By mid-October, the government plans to deliver some 45 million doses -- including more traditional flu shots -- apportioned to states based on population.

"We have a vaccine and it is likely to be effective after a single dose for those over 10, and it is going to be rolling into doctors' offices and clinics," Frieden said at a news conference.

Because the FluMist vaccine cannot be given to pregnant women, kids under age 2, or to those with underlying health problems, the first vaccine doses will go to health care workers and to people caring for or living with infants under 6 months of age.

As flu shots arrive, priority vaccinations will go to pregnant women and to school-age kids. Different states are emphasizing different kinds of programs. Frieden said school-based vaccination programs are especially important.

"We know many kids get sick from flu, and not only is that a problem for them, but they end up spreading flu widely in the community," Frieden said. "So if you protect kids, you probably end up protecting the community as well."

Although the vaccine is right on schedule, it's arriving at least two weeks after the flu pandemic. As of Sept. 19, H1N1 swine flu was widespread in 26 states. Doctors in nine of the 10 U.S. surveillance regions reported elevated rates of flu-like illness -- and virtually all proven cases of flu have been swine flu.

Will it be too late for people to get vaccinated? No, Frieden said. There's no way to tell whether there will be new waves of pandemic flu. And even if 10% of the population gets the flu -- as happened in New York City last spring -- that means 90% of the population remains vulnerable until vaccinated.