UK authorities encouraging at-risk groups to get vaccinated for H1N1.

Though I love the holidays, yesterday was a welcome day, indeed. For yesterday the kids went back to school. And I don’t know about your household, but ours can barely survive two straight weeks of round-the-clock kiddie time. But this morning I read an article that made me wonder just how excited I’d be right now if I lived in England.

With cases of influenza extremely high, United Kingdom authorities are worried that the same thing will hold true with cases of H1N1, especially now that kids are returning to school. Authorities are bracing for what they fear might be a tremendous spike in the epidemic.

Continue reading »

Tweet

0

Pin It

The 25 year old mother had not been vaccinated for the swine flu.

A pregnant mother of four is in the fight for her life. Fallon Devaney, 25, was admitted to the hospital last week after experiencing shortness of breath and flu-like symptoms. She was immediately diagnosed with swine flu and checked into the intensive-care unit, where she was placed into a medically induced coma as doctors work feverishly to save both her life as well as the life of her unborn child.

The Daily Mail reported yesterday that since her arrival, Devaney’s condition has actually worsened. Her doctors fear that she’s contracted pneumonia. Her mother, Linda Fearney, has been told by doctors that her daughter and her unborn grandchild could both die. The 46 year old woman told the Daily Mail, ”It’s getting to the stage we had feared and the baby is taking a lot of her strength. The doctors have said they might need to do something about it to save Fallon. If she can’t fight it because she’s carrying the baby then we have a very hard decision to make.” Continue reading »

Tweet

0

Pin It

By the time H1N1 vaccines reached the West Coast, where I live, it was hard to ignore that nagging feeling that, while standing in remarkably long lines last year, I was overreacting. “Was I participating in a nationwide panic?” I thought more than once. After all, I wasn’t also spending hours a week tracking down seasonal flu shots. Just H1N1 — it sounded so serious.

As the so-called “swine flu” pandemic marks its anniversary this month — and the CDC and health experts all over the nation look back on the numbers — one mother still lives with her regret. Jessica Holt had heard all about H1N1, but knew it wasn’t going to happen to her.

Then her son got sent home from school, and the very worst happened. The very worst. Continue reading »

Tweet

10

Pin It

The emergence of the Swine Flu and the resulting vaccine has sent conspiracy theorists into overdrive.  One doesn’t have to look very hard to find fringe groups who sincerely believe that the H1N1 virus is a “bioterrorism attack by the New World Order” and that the vaccine itself is a “eugenics weapon” aimed at reducing the world’s population.  As evidence of their theories, they point to the fact that President Obama refuses to have his own children vaccinated against the virus.

Those conspiracy theorists will now have to look elsewhere for their proof as the White House has announced that Sasha and Malia Obama received the H1N1 vaccine last week.

While that should shut the conspiracy theorists up for a while, something tells me it won’t.  The same article on the White House Blog confirms that while the First Daughters were vaccinated against H1N1, the President and his wife were not.  They received only the seasonal flu vaccine.  Of course, the President and First Lady are not in the priority groups for the vaccine as identified the by CDC – those under the age of 24, pregnant women and people with underlying conditions. But a good conspiracy theorist never lets the facts get in the way.

Image: sxc.hu

Tweet

0

Pin It

It seems to be a little early this year, but the Sickie Season is upon us. Aside from some persistent sniffles, my family is doing OK, but swine flu has hit not too far from me and schools are closing because tons of kids are out with it. Based on my Facebook feed, lots of other people are battling the plain old seasonal flu, and it seems to be an especially nasty strain this year.

One of the keys to everybody staying healthy is for people to stay home when they are sick — and that doesn’t mean “I’ll keep the kids home from school and activities but let’s just head out for a quick run to Target.” It means nothing, nada, no visitors, no fun, just staying home and keeping your germs to yourself. Which sucks, especially when you’re dealing with active little kids. Continue reading »

Tweet

0

Pin It

With all the concern about swine flu, not to mention the regular flu (hey, remember that?), conversation about the potential dangers of vaccinating our children is bubbling up again.

Jeanne posted an item earlier this week, pegged to a story on Slate, about how non-vaccinated children can have a potentially negative impact on children whose immune systems are compromised by leukemia or other conditions. Shelley Abreu also wrote this piece right here on Babble about why parents should not be afraid to get their children an H1N1 flu vaccine.

But one of the most candid,  no b.s. media reports on the anti-vaccination movement has to be the cover story of November’s Wired magazine. Let’s put it this way: when Jenny McCarthy reads it, she will not be pleased.

Continue reading »

Tweet

0

Pin It

Ok, so I have a tendency to freak right out over every little thing. Admitted. And having kids, especially one with some asthma-ish problems, has made me more than a little germophobic and panicky over every sniffle.

Take that into consideration when I tell you I am majorly freaked out over swine flu. The vaccine just became available here, and the city I live in tells me they have no schedule for distributing it yet. Not to mention our pediatrician’s office keeps running out of the seasonal flu vaccine. Continue reading »

Tweet

0

Pin It