Swine Flu Vaccinations May Begin in 3 Weeks as U.S. Cases Spread, CDC Says

[marmar]

Swine Flu Shots to Start in Three Weeks as U.S. Cases Spread
By Tom Randall and Jason Gale


Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Swine flu vaccinations may begin in three weeks, earlier than previously anticipated, after the first U.S. tests found a single shot to be effective in eight to 10 days, U.S. health officials said.

The first shots may be available by the end of this month and administered to patients the first week of October, said Nancy Cox, director of the flu division at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Health officials had previously planned for vaccinations to begin in mid-October, requiring two shots administered three weeks apart.

Swine flu outbreaks have rippled across U.S. schools and universities after pupils returned to classes in the past few weeks. Washington State University reported more than 2,500 cases, and the CDC last week reported a nationwide spike of influenza cases months earlier than the past three flu seasons. The test results are boosting hopes the vaccine may be available in time to curb the first pandemic in 41 years, Cox said.

“We were anticipating that it would begin mid-October,” Cox told reporters today at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco. “This was a conservative estimate but it was a necessary conservative estimate. We now feel that we will have vaccine for more people earlier and this is extremely good news.” ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=asYlPo7IOFqw

[stray cat]

1. Sooner the better - otherwise everyone in schools will already have had it.

and kids will bring it home to their parents and grandparents and doctors and nurses will give it to their immune compromised patients.