Students May Get Swine Flu Shots at School This Fall

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

(06-16) 07:02 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --

Schoolchildren may be first in line for swine flu vaccine this fall — and might even be able to get the shot right at school.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told The Associated Press she is taking that possible scenario to school superintendents, urging them to start planning now in case the government needs their buildings as part of a mass vaccination campaign.

No decision has been made yet on whether and how to vaccinate millions of Americans against the new flu strain that's circulating the globe. But because younger people so far seem most susceptible to this new flu, Sebelius says school-age children could be among the first groups targeted for the shots. She gave the update in an interview with The AP on Tuesday.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/14/national/w080829D22.DTL

[mbperrin]

1. Wonder who's selling all those doses? Looks like we're buying.

So billions for swine flu, nothing for healthcare for Americans without it.

Gotta line those corporate pockets!

[WriteDown]

5. I believe...

that vaccines are not allowed to make a profit.

[mbperrin]

6. Uh, you can believe what you like, but

FACT: In 1982, there were four drug companies making and selling vaccines for children in the U.S.: Merck, Wyeth, Lederle and Connaught. In 2007, after two decades of mergers and acquisitions, there are six drug companies making and selling vaccines for children in the U.S.: Merck, Wyeth, Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, MedImmune and Novartis. Foreign companies, like Australia's CSL Biotherapies, are poised to enter the lucrative US vaccine market soon. There are more than 200 vaccine trials in various stages worldwide and most vaccines being developed will be targeted by CDC officials and drug company lobbyists for widespread use in order to guarantee stockholder profits for vaccine manufacturers.

http://www.nvic.org/Myths-and-Facts.aspx

About NVIC
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is a national, non-profit educational organization founded in 1982. The oldest and largest consumer organization advocating the institution of vaccine safety and informed consent protections in the mass vaccination system, NVIC is responsible for launching the vaccine safety and informed consent movement in America in the early 1980's.

Our Mission
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is dedicated to the prevention of vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and to defending the informed consent ethic. As an independent clearinghouse for information on diseases and vaccines, NVIC does not promote the use of vaccines and does not advise against the use of vaccines. We support the availability of all preventive health care options, including vaccination, and the right of consumers to make educated, voluntary health care choices.

[WriteDown]

7. Its odd though...

The govt buys the vaccine and sets the price. So I guess they are really the one's at fault.

[dipsydoodle]

9. I think you may find that its free

because the shots are likely to mandatory. If not the exercise would be self defeating. It's difficult for me to relate becuase I'm reasonably certain that in the UK thye'd be covered by the NHS.

Was polio vaccine free in the USA fifties/ sixties ? We had those at school by coincidence.

[mbperrin]

10. Polio vaccine was not free in the 50s here. My aunt was a nurse for a local

doctor, though, so at least they were administered by a friendly face.

None of the shots required for school attendance here are free, unless you're on Medicaid. In that case, the county health department administers them to eligible folks.

[dipsydoodle]

12. Oh ! I see.

I hadn't appreciated that. Notwithstanding that it could be that this time around, given the circumstances , it might then possibly be free assuming your administration does in fact need its population . :sarcasm:

[mbperrin]

13. No evidence either the government nor business needs the population.

I suspect they're wrong, but they certainly do ACT like we don't exist or don't matter.

[havocmom]

16. It was free in the 60s where I was, and given at school in evenings so all adults cold get it too.

:shrug:

[mbperrin]

20. Nice! Where was that, if I may ask? We're in west Texas here.

nt

[havocmom]

21. Long Beach, California, BEFORE prop 13 LOL

Back then, Long Beach had lots of bucks from oil drilling money. School in a rather modest/almost poor neighborhood, but we still had great programs. The powers that be had clinics in schools as it made it easy for the population to get in for the vaccine. Lots of older people there then and many did not drive. Clinics rotating into the various schools made it possible to get doses to everybody who wanted them (and it was well promoted, plus people still knew about the horrors of polio up close in families in 50s) vaccine in a short amount of time and without much trouble at all. It was a great program.

see my posts below explaining how well it was planned/executed. Such efforts made the general population very PRO-school programs. It was great PR & public health policy

[mbperrin]

31. Sounds good! Of course, too often, my beloved Texas puts a bit more

influence on rugged individualism than is good for them. But I'm trying!

[uppityperson]

27. It was free in ND in 60's also

I remember trying to sneak extra sugar cubes and getting scolded for some odd reason. Now thinking of all those people and all that polio, I am glad that there is so little polio around

[havocmom]

37. Cool! Good to know.

[mbperrin]

11. So the government forces Big Pharma to accept large dollars?

Wow, and here I thought all their political contributions had something to do with that....

[WriteDown]

34. If someone offered you an exorbitant salary...

would you turn it down?

Lobbying is a whole separate issue. But apparently that doesn't exist in DC anymore. :)

[Hannah Bell]

32. wrong.

[WriteDown]

33. Your late, I already admitted that..

Still the govt sets the price.

[Ian David]

2. Oh, noes! Teh Vaccines will give them teh Autism and teh gay! n/t

[juno jones]

14. Frankly I'm more worried about Guillian-Barre syndrome

Which was the reason they stopped giving the swine flu shots back in the 70's during the first outbreak. I read recently the 70's legal testimony of a woman who was permanently disabled from them. There were several who died from those, in fact more people were injured by the vaccine than were permanently inconvienced by that flu.

If a kid's gonna be autistic, they already are by grade school, and teh gay stuff is just stupid, but I'm sure you know that (not funny). There are problems with vaccines sometimes, especially ones whipped up in the face of emergency. Both sides in the vaccine debate seem to get all hysterical over the wrong stuff.

edit to add: I certainly hope they spend this summer testing those vacs so maybe they can get it right this time.

[dipsydoodle]

15. I think you'll find this from the past and indeed present

remains , and may possibly always be, a far more serious issue : http://www.laleva.cc/choice/vaccines/vaccines_whyNOT.html

[StarryNite]

29. Thanks for that link.

It's very interesting.

[dipsydoodle]

35. There was a tv documentary on this

some ago in the UK. The conclusion was that when the subject finally reaches a conclusion it would lead to the biggest court case in the history of the world.

[earcandle]

3. Look up Baxter International Pharmaceutical before you let your kids get a swine flu shot

They have been caught sending out vaccines with live bird flu
and swine flu in a vaccine that will cause a pandemic.

Google that post before you let any government make your
children take a vaccine.  Please.  

[dipsydoodle]

8. Wasn't swine flu

according to this : http://www.naturalnews.com/025760.html

Apart from which , as far as I'm aware , most of your shots will come from Europe PROVIDED there is no actual pandemic and borders are not locked.

[noamnety]

4. Great - just what schools need.

Additional functions without additional funding.

[Robb]

17. First reasonable criticism. nt

[havocmom]

19. Not so fast... see my post below. A bit of planning and cooperation between departments

and it was easy, cheap and effective.

School buildings sit unused most of the time, when you think about it. A well planned clinic program gets more bang for only the buck of some extra hours with some lights on.

[havocmom]

18. As I recall in early 60s, all the schools had to do was have an adminsitrator & janitor to lock up

Polio vaccine doses given at my school, to the whole population if they showed up. Health workers did the work. All the schools had to do was make sure an administrator and janitor were there to lock up when the clinic was over, oh, and run the lights in one building just a few extra hours.

It was NOT a big burden on the schools. Health clinic workers showed up about when school was letting out, carted in their supplies, set up in the cafeteria, and did the doses when people showed up. It was well advertised, well attended, well planned, well executed. After wards, the health care workers packed up & left. The janitor, already working on the rest of the school buildings, just did the floor in the cafeteria last, so I doubt there was even any overtime for him. The principal locked up the big gate left open for the public to attend. Janitor locked up as usual and it was a done deal.

No biggie :shrug:

[noamnety]

22. Things have changed since the 60's.

Under "extra duties as assigned" I managed the vaccine program at our school for one year. We weren't even giving the vaccines - just tracking who had them so we could expel the ones who didn't have the shots or the waiver on file. It was a huge amount of work, with no budget to account for it. You'd be shocked at how labor intensive it can be, because it's not just maintaining a data base, it's taking the time to look up individual students' schedules, call them down, print out letters, mail letters, talk to angry parents on the phone ... on and on and on.

Schools keep having their budgets cut and still keep getting additional things they need to do for the good of the community, we're expected to police up public heath problems, dietary issues, all sorts of things. All of them tend to be good social programs, but all of them come at an administrative burden that is uncompensated. I guarantee there was more involved even in the 60's than locking doors at the end. There's tear down (or set up) of tables and chairs in the gym, which needs to be ready for gym class the next morning magically, there's coordination with the officials to begin with (more than a 10 second phone call), there's advertising, notes to parents, answering a thousand phone calls with questions from parents. It's never just "lock the door when we're done."

[havocmom]

23. I know there is work involved, but it wasn't the schools doing it!

Health policy- health workers. Lots of volunteers too. Back in the swine flu panic in the 70s, it was STILL mostly volunteer health care workers doing those clinics. EMTs, paramedics, staffs from medical clinics.

My point is, it does not have to be a massive burden on the schools. Cooperation is an amazing thing. Much can be done with a liberal does of that and some good planning.

[noamnety]

24. I don't think you have a realistic idea

of what's involved on the school's part to host an event like that. Catchy phrases about how great cooperation is doesn't pay the bills for additional labor involved. That "good planning" doesn't happen with a snap of the fingers.

[havocmom]

25. And I DO think if you are trying to sell universal health care, using good planning helps

IF you want health care in America, it might be good to look at what is possible, and think outside the box health care delivery is stuck in. Showing all parties at the table what might be possible if we just pull together would go a long way to sell the whole notion that health care delivery system in this nation could actually work better. This particular issue (swine flu, or addressing any big public health threat efficiently) could sure as hell help make the case that other aspects of health care can be made better.

Where did I even suggest good planning DOES happen with the snap of the fingers? Jesus H Christ. What a foolish accusation! I know things take time and effort to plan. Also takes a willingness to fucking think of what is possible when all resources are considered to solve a problem. But, yes, so much easier to just cop an attitude that something is too hard to work on.

Or, we could all just do the OH NOES, wring our hands and prove that NOTHING can be improved upon, nothing can be done to advance REAL health care in America, nothing can be done to pull people and resources together to make things better. Why vote for change if we aren't serious about finding ways to really make changes?

Hell, why bother to get up and get out of the cave everyday?

What a CAN'T do attitude. Hope they make some strides on anti-depressants in the very near future.

:banghead:

[noamnety]

26. My apologies:

"Where did I even suggest good planning DOES happen with the snap of the fingers? Jesus H Christ. What a foolish accusation! I know things take time and effort to plan."


I thought I was replying to the same person who wrote: "All the schools had to do was make sure an administrator and janitor were there to lock up when the clinic was over"

[havocmom]

38. So funny you are

so intimidated I am not.

Really, the SCHOOL staff did not find the whole thing to be a huge unpaid mandate. The HEALTH professionals did the work & organization with just that tiny bit of extra work from two members of school staff.

Your apology is accepted. :rofl:

[StarryNite]

28. What a joke!

"So the Food and Drug Administration will closely track vaccine safety, Sebelius said."


:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

30. VAERS seems to catch a lot of problems.

[Q3JR4]

36. I don't understand...

According the CDC's own website only 51 Americans in 1 million have the Swine Flu, and only about 13 Americans in 100 million have died since the beginning of the epidemic¹.

In America during 2007 around 44,084 people contracted HIV². That means that if you're an American your odds of contracting HIV are around 1 in 10000. Let me repeat that, you have a greater risk of contracting HIV than you do of contracting H1N1. Around 42 Americans in 1 million died from HIV in 2007. That means that your odds of dying from H1N1, assuming you have it, are less than your odds of dying from HIV, also assuming you have it.

I don't get the fear generated by the outbreak. There is risk associated with EVERYTHING you do. As Ben Franklin said, back in the day, nothing is certain.

Q3JR4

The preceding numbers assume that you, as an American, have not traveled to Mexico since the outbreak. I did not find numbers that address that particular outcome, so did not include those calculations here.

1. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm
2. http://www.avert.org/usa-statistics.htm


Let's make people afraid of it, then we'll throw money at it and make them think we're actually doing something to help.