Monthly Archive for October, 2009

CDC and HHS claim sufficient supply of H1N1 vaccine is on the way

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on October 28, 2009
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Getting vaccinated against the swine flu should be more trouble-free soon for those who want it, according to health officials latest report on Tuesday, October 27. There are currently 22 million doses of the vaccine available. Even Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said earlier this week that plenty of the vaccine is on the way, though she did admit that it is being dispensed as soon as it comes off the production line. She said that at first they were counting on manufacturers to give them the correct numbers. Well apparently, those numbers were much more optimistic than the real thing.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that they are starting to see notable increases in obtainable vaccines. That said, last week produced just 14 million available doses even though previous estimations were that as many as 120 million would be here by the middle of October.

This snail-paced dribble of vaccines has made many Americans angry, some who have waited for hours in line in some areas of the U.S. Frieden believes that this unfortunate scarce supply has made more people want to get vaccinated and it has happened in the past.

One reason for the delay is that the vaccine is grown in eggs in a dependable but very gradual process and smaller amounts were created per egg than what was predicted. Some other snags cropped up but health officials say that the manufacturers smoothed those out and now are making the vaccine more quickly. The government hopes to produce as much as 225 million doses of the new vaccine if it is necessary.

CDC officials say that the virus, which first appeared in April, has killed around 1,000 Americans and made millions of others have a mild illness. The pandemic began as a scary cluster of cases, including Boston, New York and parts of the Southwest. During the summer, it died down somewhat, but as soon as schools opened, it started to increase again in ferocity.

H1N1 cases are beginning to calm down in Georgia and some other parts of the U.S., but still increasing in other areas. Health officials say it is impossible to predict what will happen in the coming months.

During the past weekend, President Obama declared that the swine flu as a national emergency. This gave hospitals and health professionals more leeway from federal regulations to deal with the illness.

Sebelius said that she hopes people who have waited in line only to get turned away will come back. Recently she has appeared on “The Today Show”, “Good Morning America”, and “The Early Show” claiming that ultimately there will be enough vaccine supplies “for everyone”.

Study finds at least 1 in 5 kids lack vitamin D

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Jana
on October 26, 2009
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A new study has found that around 20 percent of children ages 1 to 11 are lacking in vitamin D. These kids could be vulnerable to several different types of health problems such as weak bones.

A rougher estimate claims that an astounding 90 percent of black children and 80 percent of Hispanic kids in that age range could be deficient in vitamin D. Lead author of the new analysis and a researcher at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital in Boston, Dr. Jonathan Mansbach, says these percentages are a definite call for action.

These current findings build on the already existing mountain of evidence concerning vitamin D deficiency in children, teens and adults. The latest studies indicate that vitamin D could even prevent dangerous diseases like diabetes and some cancers.

It is still not known if low levels of vitamin D can lead to disease or if higher levels can prevent it. This is still a developing sector of research. Doctors are different in their suggestions on this subject and most are anticipating guidance from the Institute of Medicine report on vitamin D that is due sometime next year. This institute is a government advisory group that sets dietary standards.

This new analysis is the earliest assessment of different vitamin D levels in children ranging in age from 1 to 11. It was released online October 26 by the journal of Pediatrics. Earlier studies in the journal this year discovered that low levels were widespread in U.S. teens and revealed that kids with scant levels had elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels and were often overweight. Data for this analysis was taken from a 2001-06 government health survey of almost 3,000 children who had blood tests which measured vitamin D levels.

Going by the American Academy of Pediatrics’ cutoff for healthy vitamin D levels, it was found that 64 million children – about 20 percent of kids that age – have blood levels of vitamin D that are too low. The most compelling evidence about the effects of low levels of vitamin D, taken from a Pediatrics editorial, reveals that rickets can occur. This is a bone disease that was common around 100 years ago and sometimes still happens. The good news, according to the editorial, is that rickets can be treated and prevented with 400 units each day of vitamin D.

Children can get 400 units of vitamin D daily by drinking four cups of fortified milk or eating plenty of fish. The problem is that most children don’t do this. Also, the body makes it’s own vitamin D by being outdoors, but we all know that too many children are not spending enough time outdoors. This is one explanation for why low vitamin D levels are found in children living in colder areas and also in children with darker skin, which does not absorb as much sunlight as lighter skin.

Shot is better than spray for preventing seasonal flu in adults

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Jana
on October 21, 2009
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During a recent flu season, a study of almost 2,000 healthy adults revealed that regular shots were two times as effective as the nasal spray against the ordinary winter flu. On the other hand, this might not be true for swine flu vaccines, which will most likely be available in a spray first. According to experts, both kinds may be uniform in effectiveness against the swine flu in children and adults.

Flu shots are made from dead flu viruses that are normally administered into the arm. Flu Mist, which is the only government-approved flu nasal spray, squirts a live but weakened strain into the nostrils.

The  Flu Mist is usually used in children, and studies indicate that it is more effective than shots in children. Adults seem to be choosing the spray version more and more, but the most recent shot-versus-spray study seems to repeat past research that showed shots to be better for adults.

So far, they do not know why the spray seems to not be as effective against seasonal flu in adults, but this may not be the same for the swine flu, claimed Dr. Jay Butler, who is the swine flu vaccine chief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said that the swine flu virus is so new that the immune system will probably have a powerful response.

The first shipments of the swine flu vaccines, which are currently expected around the middle of next month, will most likely be the nasal spray kind, according to federal health officials.

Dr. Arnold Monto, a University of Michigan epidemiologist who led the recent flu study, said that the difference in the effectiveness between the swine flu shot and spray will not be extreme because the 2009 H1N1 strain is so current.

In the study, regular flu vaccines from the 2007-08 flu season were compared. Healthy volunteers, who ranged in age from 18 to 49, were given either a flu shot, a dummy injection, Flu Mist or a fake nasal spray.

The researchers in this study reported that the flu shot was found to be 68% effective for preventing the flu. The nasal spray, on the other hand, was only 36% successful.

N.C. has improved in health and dental care but drug use and obesity still a major worry

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on October 21, 2009
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North Carolina’s children are living healthier than they did eight years ago, according to an advocacy group. There are more children who are getting health and dental care, less teen girls becoming pregnant and fewer children vulnerable to lead. All this is according to Action for Children North Carolina, which published a child health report card for 15 years. Along with the N.C. Institute of Medicine, the group commended state policies for improving health with a broader health insurance plan that includes more children in low-income homes.

This said, the report claimed that North Carolina still needs to improve in certain areas. Even though the infant mortality rate has declined, it is still more than the national average. In North Carolina, there are eight babies who die for every 1,000  born. The rate is less than seven deaths for every 1,000 live births nationally.

Unfortunately, some unhealthy problems became even worse. The percentage of low-income children who are obese increased in each age group. There were 26%  poor children aged 5-11 who were rated as obese and 29% of teens aged 12-18 were also obese.

For substance abuse cases, there is good and bad news. There has not been much done to keep high school students from drinking, smoking pot or doing cocaine, but there was a notable decrease in the amount of students who had smoked cigarettes. There were 28% of students who were smokers in 2001, which fell to 19% in 2007.

You can go to www.ncchild.org to get more information about the results.

Fear keeps some pregnant women from getting H1N1 shot

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on October 17, 2009
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Many women are not sure whether or not they should get the new H1N1 vaccine because they are concerned that it might not be safe for their baby or themselves. Pregnant women are expected to be the first in line to get the vaccine. Their call was renewed last week after new reports revealed that 100 pregnant women were  hospitalized with swine flu through late August and 28 actually died from complications from the illness.

Persuading some of them will be the difficult part say health officials. They say that fears about the new vaccine should not keep women who are vulnerable to illness from getting themselves protected.

A top U.S. health official said that the risks from not getting the H1N1 vaccine are bigger than any possible risks that may be related to the vaccine. Dr. Anne Schuchat from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claimed that the positive safety record from vaccines in the past should indicate that the swine flu vaccine will be relatively safe. She was on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, October 12.

New studies reveal that 1 in 100 children have autism disorders

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Jana
on October 10, 2009
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In a higher than previous U.S. estimate of 1 in 150, two new government studies revel that about 1 in 100 children have autism disorders.

Health officials believe that more awareness, more expansive definitions and more discoveries of autism in younger children could explain some of the increase in numbers of this dreaded disease.

Dr. Thomas Insel, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health, is afraid that there may be a real increase in the numbers from this disorder. Diagnosis is based on a child’s behavior, so diagnosis is especially difficult, according to Dr. Susan Levy of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics subcommittee on autism. She said it is hard to diagnose autism because there is no biological marker such as a blood test.

This new estimate could mean that around 673,000 American children have autism. Past estimates have put the number at around 560,000.

One of the studies came from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health. The results were released and published in the October issue of Pediatrics. The study, based on telephone surveys, parents reported that about 1 in 91 children ages  3 to 17 had autism, which included milder forms of the disease like asperger’s syndrome.

The other government estimate has not been officially released as of yet. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has decided to announce that their early findings show that about 1 in 100 children have the disorders because of the new published findings.

Researcher Catherine Rice said that the CDC employs an intensive method for its estimation. The education and health records of 8-year-old children in selected cities are evaluated by an agency network and they then determine whether the children have autism. Experts of autism usually consider this method more reliable and complete than a simple telephone survey.

President Obama has even made autism a priority for research. Federal stimulus money has been set aside for it and a 2006 law poured millions of federal money into autism research, screening and treatment.

The newly published data, which includes state-level data, will aid the government in planning new services, says Michael Kogan, who is a researcher with the federal Health Resources and Services Administration and who also led the new study.

The findings are based on results of a national telephone survey of more than 78,000 parents of children ages 3 to 17. The survey  examined many health issues and included two questions on autism.

Parents were asked if a health care provider had ever told them that their child had autism, asperger’s syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder or other autism spectrum disorder. If the parent said yes, they were also asked if their child currently has autism or an autism spectrum disorder. If they answered yes to both questions, they were counted as a child with autism disorder.

Children with autism may have trouble communicating and interacting socially. They have little or no eye contact and engage in repetitive behavior like rocking back and forth and hand-flapping.

New figures reveal swine flu is especially dangerous for children

Published
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Jana
on October 10, 2009
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On October 9, health officials reported that 76  children have died from the swine flu. This includes 16 new reports in the past week. This presents an ever increasing amount of evidence suggesting that this new virus, the H1N1, is unusually dangerous for children.

According to the CDC and Prevention Data, the seasonal flu kills between 46 and 88 children each year. At a press conference held Friday, October 9, Dr. Anne Schuchat said that since swine flu cases are rising, more deaths are very likely. She warned that 37 states are currently reporting widespread swine flu cases, which is up from 27 a week ago. Just one week ago, there were reports that indicated these cases might be leveling off and maybe even decreasing in some places of the U.S. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a short-lived trend.

Schuchat, who heads the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, says that they are unfortunately seeing more illnesses, hospitalizations, and more deaths.

All this said, the CDC officials report that states have ordered 3.7 million doses of swine flu vaccine for a campaign that started this week. So far, demand is outweighing supply. People who want the vaccine can begin by contacting their state or local health department to find out where to get it.

Also, health officials say more data is coming in from different clinical trials of the new vaccine, and there have been no serious side effects reported so far.

Early information from one study reveal that both seasonal and swine flu vaccines are effective when given at the same time. However, the government does not suggest that people get the nasal spray versions of each vaccine at the same time.

An exact report of all swine flu deaths and hospitalizations is not available from the CDC at this time, but current reports indicate that the infection has caused over 600 deaths and around 9000 or more hospitalizations since it first appeared in April.

BCBSNC says stick it to the flu

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Jana
on October 10, 2009
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Want to knock out your chances of getting the flu? Well, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) wants you to stick it to the flu by getting your flu shot. It is presenting this message through its Stick it to the Flu Campaign which will run through March.

As part of the campaign, BCBSNC will cover the cost of the seasonal flu vaccine for customers with preventive health benefits. A co-payment, deductible or coinsurance may be charged to some customers, depending on their specific benefits. BCBSNC is also suggesting that customers get the separate H1N1so vaccine, and the out-of-pocket costs will be waived for eligible customers.

Dr. Don Bradley, senior vice president and chief medical officer for BCBSNC, says that the flu shot is the best way to keep from getting the seasonal flu and transferring it to others. He says “We are making it easy for our customers to get their seasonal and H1N1 flu shots by simply visiting their primary care doctor, worksite clinic or participating pharmacist in the BCBSNC network.”

As with insured customers, BCBSNC issues health plans for companies and organizations that are self-insured (The employer pays BCBSNC to administer the plan). Employees of such self-insured companies can check with their supervisors or HR Department to determine how the seasonal and H1N1 vaccine will be paid.

BCBSNC, using guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Prevention’s Advisory  Committee on Immunization Practices, has decided to cover the H1N1 vaccine. The Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has predicted extensive outbreaks this fall and winter.

When the H1N1 vaccine is available, BCBSNC customers have the option to go to their physician, in-network pharmacist or CVS Minute Clinic to get a H1N1 vaccine that will be covered. They advise customers to contact their provider to make sure that the vaccine is available.

It is strongly recommended that people get both vaccines to be completely protected against the seasonal and swine flu. These can be administered on the same day.  The 2009 H1N1 vaccine does not replace the seasonal flu vaccine. You must get each vaccine for the best protection.

The CDC says that those who are the first to get the H1N1 vaccine are pregnant women, people who live with or provide care for infants less than 6 months of age, heath care and emergency medical services workers, children and young adults ages 6 months to 24 years and adults ages 25 to 65 years with medical conditions that have put them at a higher risk for flu-related complications.

More than 100 million doses of the seasonal flu vaccine will be available this flu season, according to the CDC estimations. The U.S. government plans to have 6 to 7 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine in October and 250 million doses by the end of the year. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reports that between 1000 to 2000 people die of seasonal influenza and pneumonia in North Carolina each year. The CDC estimates that more than 200,000 people are hospitalized with the seasonal flu every year and that there are 36,000 deaths from it yearly.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is a leader in advanced health care products, services and information to more than 3.7 million customers, which includes 900,000 served on behalf of other Blue Plans. The company has served its customers for 76 years by offering health insurance at a reasonable and competitive price and has served the people of North Carolina through support of community organizations, programs and events that support good health. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. You can access BCBSNC online at www.bcbsnc.com.

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