Who's getting the H1N1 shot?

[Jonrox]

Originally Posted by Rerun

I heard on the radio this morning that as of yesterday, 121 people have been admitted into Calgary hospitals with severe cases of H1N1.

I fear it will only get worse in the next few weeks.


I hate to say I told you so.... but....

Did the report say how many people were typically hospitalized by this time in past years with seasonal flu? That number doesn't mean much without other information... is this less than typical? The same? If more, how much more?

Also, did it mention the time period? Is this since people began catching H1N1? Or just over the past couple of months?

Also, did they give an estimate of how many people have recovered without incident or without going to the doctor?

The media should be more responsible and quote these numbers in context.

[joe_mullen]

Originally Posted by J pold

I've spoke today with two different people who had H1N1, both where young, perfectly healthy guys like me. Both got over it in less than 4 days, and of those days they both agreed only one was really that bad. One of them told me that his symptoms from H1N1 where more mild than the seasonal flu he had last year.

it is well known that the H1N1 flu is actually milder than the seasonal flu. the problem is that it is much more contagious. so even though you are less likely to get really sick from it, you will see more people in the ICU due to the large number of people getting the virus (rare complication x many people = relatively large amount of people with complications)

[Bagor]

Can anyone clarify this whole issue of ICU admittance?

What % of patients that are admitted actually require mechanical ventilation and what % are there for close observation purposes?

[Circa89]

I just received word that there is a Vaccine clinic opening at the Stampede Grandstand on Thursday:

The Stampede Flu Vaccination Clinic is designated for high priority individuals and will operate Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and then Friday to Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Hours for next week are still to be determined and we will look to Alberta Health Services to advise on how long they expect to operate this clinic.

[Dion]

Alberta Health Services says H1N1 vaccination clinics will reopen on Thursday including a sixth clinic in Calgary.


The additional clinic will be held at the Stampede Grandstand.


When the clinics reopen it will only be children between the ages of six months and under five years, as of November 1st, that will be vaccinated.


Parents must provide proof of age for their child before getting the vaccine.

On Friday, the clinics will begin accepting pregnant women.

http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/loc...ub=CalgaryHome

[HOOT]

I wonder if they will actually turn people away.

[You Need a Thneed]

So, kids can get vaccinated, but the mother or father cannot get it at the same time - even if they fit into one of the high risk categories?

People are going to be complaining about this move too.

[KTown]

Since they are only doing children and pregnant women, these are the people that must be getting hit the hardest even harder than people with chronic conditions. I am hoping they've looked at hospital admittance records before making this decision because some people with lung diseases might be upset they are not included in this group.

However I agree that this is how it should have been done in the first place.

[Tyler]

[flame3132]

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=699619&page=3

[Thor]

Yarrg, now I see people on Facebook citing that Desiree Jennings case (funny walking youtube lady) as a reason to not get vaccinations.

Why are people so ready to accept that while ignoring evidence on the contrary? MMR scare, Thimerosal scare, Autism, now Dystonia (which is not what it is)...

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Did any of them go to the hospital? Or just get over it on their own? If the latter how did they know what they had?

I wonder about this too. My understanding is that they're only doing the H1N1 swab for people who are actually admitted to the hospital. So there is a large portion of the population who could have H1N1 (or not) and won't really ever know because they aren't testing for it at clinics, in doctor's offices, etc. It's too expensive to test every person who may or may not have it.

[KTown]

Some more interesting statements from the CDC

“There’s almost no seasonal flu so far,” he said. “We’ve seen a few strains here and there, but overwhelmingly H1N1 is the strain circulating and it continues to be very tightly matched with vaccine.”

“We know that the majority of hospitalizations from H1N1 are in people with asthma and we also know that half of people with asthma who get H1N1 do not seek medical attention,” Frieden said, referring to a telephone survey conducted by the CDC in which 50 percent of asthmatics said they did not seek medical attention for flu-like symptoms."

[bigtmac19]

Took my kid (15) to the doctor today for a routine check-up, coincidentally he had come home from a 3 day school trip last week and was sick when he got home, with what we thought was a head cold, but now the doctor said was 95% sure to be H1N1. He took a nasal swab and said we should get the results next week. He said he should have been kept home 5 days after the onset of symptoms.

He gave me an Rx for Tamiflu if I develop symptoms. He had the vaccine but he is only vaccinating high risk groups right now.

He told me to bring my son back in 6 weeks or so and he will vaccinate him then.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Peanut

I wonder about this too. My understanding is that they're only doing the H1N1 swab for people who are actually admitted to the hospital. So there is a large portion of the population who could have H1N1 (or not) and won't really ever know because they aren't testing for it at clinics, in doctor's offices, etc. It's too expensive to test every person who may or may not have it.

I would like to know the % of people that H1N1 actually affects. If 99% of people are just going to get sick for a few days and recover via the age old remedy of chicken noole soup and sleep then what the heck is all the fuss about.

[Bagor]

DES MOINES, Iowa — The H1N1 flu virus has been confirmed in a cat treated at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Officials said Wednesday it’s the first known case of the virus to be diagnosed in a cat. Veterinarians say the virus has also been confirmed in two ferrets.
The 13-year-old cat was treated and is recovering.
The veterinarian who treated the cat, Dr. Brett Sponseller, says two of the three people in the same house had flu-like symptoms before the cat became ill.
The case was confirmed at both Iowa State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Sponseller says the flu is known to spread from humans to pets, but this is the first case of H1N1 flu to spread to a cat.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/world.../11634706.html

Anyone that doesn't kill their cat within 10 minutes of reading this post is just .... well...

stupid and selfish.

[HOOT]

I'd kill myself before my cat...

[Suave]

Here are some more numbers from a study in California btween between April 23 and August 11, 2009.

During the study period there were 1088 cases of hospitalization or death due to pandemic 2009 influenza A(H1N1) infection reported in California. The median age was 27 years (range, <1-92 years) and 68% (741/1088) had risk factors for seasonal influenza complications

Overall fatality was 11% (118/1088) and was highest (18%-20%) in persons aged 50 years or older

the median age of hospitalized infected cases was younger than is common with seasonal influenza. Infants had the highest hospitalization rates and persons aged 50 years or older had the highest mortality rates once hospitalized

"Of the deaths, 8 (7 percent) were children younger than 18 years. Among fatal cases, the median time from onset of symptoms to death was 12 days."

Link to the abstract:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/302/17/1896

[kevman]

Based on a California population of 36,760,000 people during the study:

0.00094% of the population without risk factors for flu complications were hospitalized.
0.00032% of the population, regardless of risk factors, died from the virus.

[Dion]

Total number of hospitalized confirmed cases of pandemic H1N1 influenza to date, i.e. since April 2009 to now.

Up to November 3, 2009:

AreaYear to Date:

Northern Alberta 24
Edmonton and area 82
Central Alberta 33
Calgary and area 132
Southern Alberta 43

Total: 314

http://www.health.alberta.ca/health-...1N1-cases.html