H1N1 and the Holidays

Health

Jonathan Serrie

Atlanta, GA

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H1N1 and the Holidays

November 25, 2009 - 3:10 PM | by: Jonathan Serrie

As 38.4 million Americans prepare to travel this Thanksgiving weekend (according to AAA estimates), officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging them not to bring the H1N1 flu home for the holidays.

"We want you to stay healthy and safe and travel well," said Rear Adm. Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

In addition to the usual recommendations to wash hands, cover coughs and get the vaccine when available, the CDC recommends people who are sick avoid travel to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus in close quarters, such as a crowded airplane cabin.

According to public health officials, the holiday travel season could produce a temporary spike in influenza activity, despite reported decreases throughout the first half of November.

Schuchat also reported a "worrisome" increase in invasive pneumococcal infections in persons under 65. Influenza makes the body more susceptible to this secondary bacterial infection, which is especially dangerous for persons with underlying medical conditions, such as heart disease or neurological problems.

Pneumococcal infection can be prevented by one-time vaccine available at most doctor's offices. However, Shuchat said only one in four high risk adults bothers to get the vaccine.

4 Comments

Liz Book

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Hon, too bad they didn't get the shots first. There is evidence coming to light all over the world that we are under a bioweapons attack. But hey, people like Ted Turner have told us for years that they were going to bring the human population down. Have you even heard about the aerial spraying that was being done in Eastern Europe and Africa? The two AN-124 Ukrainian planes, operated by U.S. forces, were taken down by military jets over Africa? They had nano-dispersement pipes and a payload of viral material. It is being called "Humanicide". They don't care who you are. They just want us all to catch it and die.`

November 27, 2009 at 10:43 PM

Tim

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So I read in another article on this site that it has been confirmed that a doctor has had the virus twice; once in august and again in October. Why the push to get vaccinated if your body can't protect itself with the antibodies it creates from a live infection? Logic tells me that if you can get the virus twice then you can get it after you have had the vaccine. So why risk getting an shot that was tested for two weeks or so before production, has had a history of causing problems in children in the 1970's, and has recently been said to cause problems in a few hundred people; causing internal bleeding and hospitalizing hundreds because of over 150,000 tainted doses. Wake up people!

November 26, 2009 at 10:08 AM