Posted on 10/07/2004 2:49:33 PM PDT by OESY
...'This is not an emergency," Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Americans Wednesday. She was, of course, referring to the stunning announcement Tuesday that United Kingdom regulators had suspended operations at a Liverpool plant, halting production of some 50 million doses of influenza vaccine that were to provide protection for Americans during the upcoming flu season.
Dr. Gerberding was, understandably, trying to prevent panic. She wanted to avoid, or at least minimize, the stampede to physicians' offices by worried consumers who wanted to get their shot now — before supplies were exhausted. And Dr. Gerberding sought to distinguish "high risk" (infants, toddlers, pregnant women, the elderly, health care workers and others) from "low risk" (the rest of us). All of this is perfectly in keeping with Gerberding's role as head of the CDC.
But we need to inject some reality here as well: while panic is to be avoided at all costs, the loss of nearly half of our nation's anticipated supply of influenza vaccine represents a potential health crisis for our nation.
Each year some 36,000 Americans die from influenza. Most of this mortality occurs in people in those "high risk" groups. But millions of other Americans become sick from influenza, suffer, lose time from work and other activities, and eventually get better....
Assuming that a substantial number of high risk Americans do get vaccinated, we will hopefully avoid a major increase in flu-related mortality. But with so many of us entering the flu season without immunity, we will inevitably see millions become ill, lose time from work and generally become less productive as the illness runs its course....
And take a moment to reflect how much modern medical technology protects our health — and how vulnerable we are without it.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Don't get mad! Thank God for another example of what happens when you Federalize Health Care into a single payer system! This it Hitlery Care in action!
Want to know why health insurance costs have risen and the number of doctors practicing medicime have declined? John Edwards and others like him.
There's one important group of "high risk" individuals that the article fails to mention...any individual with any sort of reduced immunity.
For anyone reading this post who falls in any of the high risk categories, please, please get your flu shot.
(This public service announcement brought to you by AQG.)
Why are we at the mercy of political problems in foreign countries? If as it has been in the past, we have been at the mercy of some two-bit dictator in a country that has control of a product that should be made here.
Thanks for outsourcing!!(Sarcasm.)
...and some of those millions happen to live in the same household with those who are at high risk. So even if you aren't at high risk and recover from the flu bug that you catch because you didn't get a shot, your loved one may get it from you and not recover.
The simple fact is that we are discussing a highly communicable disease and we live in a highly mobile society. As many people as possible should get the shot, high risk or not.
My wife and I are getting shots this coming Monday afternoon at my office building. We have a 3-year-old and a 4-month-old, both of whom I consider to be at high risk. Besides, my 3-year-old goes to school with about a dozen other snot-nosed kids, and is always bringing something home. With less flu vaccines out there, I'm sure that she'll bring the flu home to us. And, yes, we're making sure that she gets a shot at the pediatrician's office.
Those adorable little angels are very efficient incubators.
Save the flu shots for the old sick grannies.
Care to explain what you mean? There are only a handful of companies that make vacines because of John Edwards type lawyers in this country. As far as the flu shot only one in this country and the rest overseas. This US plant in Great Britain was prevented from shipping the vacine because a bacterial contaminant was discovered in the equipment and vacine. What does this have to do with Hitlery Care? What am I missing?
Tell that to the bosses!!!!!!
Several years ago, the Federal Government took the Flu Vaccine distribution system so that everyone would be able to get it. This is the result.
Low population density is your friend. Possibly a good time for a long sea voyage on a short handed boat or a visit to a remote and sparsley populated area.
We asked our doctor today about flu shots. he is part of a fairly large clinic in Houston. He said they didn't have *any* vaccine.
I was calling our local medical providers day before yesterday, to look into offering flu shots to our employees....this was just as the news was breaking about the manufacturer in the UK being shut down. All the clinics I called had vaccine on order, and the orders had all been cancelled. All the "rules" changed on a dime. Doctors and health departments are now supposed to give shots ONLY to those in high risk groups.
Personally, I have never had the flu in my life, and the only time I had the flu shot was way back in the 70's during the swine flu scare.
With the exception of the high-risk groups, there are far better things to worry about than getting the flu.
I haven't had the flu since the year I was nursing 16 years ago and thought I should skip the shot - thought I was going to die. My son was so horribly sick two years ago I got him a shot last year. Now our doctor doesn't have any vaccine and I've called everywhere else. Plus we have 81-year-old disabled granddad living with us. Maybe those SARS masks will come back in style.
Maybe this is the year I do ALL my Christmas shopping from catalogs. LOL
Also, public schools don't do a good job of keeping sick kids away because they want their attendance to be high.
My kids school has a drawing for bike for all of the kids that didn't miss a day of school.
My kids usually get sick at least once a year. I keep them home. I don't send sick kids to school. Of course, I'm a stay at home mom, and many working parents send sick kids to school.
I just don't like getting sick from kids that should be at home.
Take your vitamin C and lots of zinc, drink plenty of fluids...
aspirin too.
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