Obama declares H1N1 national emergency; WHO analyzes severe, fatal cases
Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 1:02PM Breaking News
Negative stain EM image of the 2009 H1N1 influenza A/CA/4/09. Photo Credit: C. S. Goldsmith and A. Balish, CDC.A number of media networks say President Barack Obama declared H1N1 a national emergency late Friday afternoon. Fox News made the announcement, and newspapers like The Star-Tribune (Minn.) The paper said Obama “authorized Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to bypass federal rules so health officials can respond more quickly to the outbreak...” Theoretically the goal would be looser requirements for documentation to receive treatment subsidized by Medicaid or Medicare, and less attention to privacy regulations.
At this time, The US Report cannot locate the official proclamation on The White House website, the Health and Human Services website or the Centers for Disease Control website. One of the best resources on severity of H1N1 is provided by the World Health Organization.
The CDC provides a frequently updated H1N1 flu section, and the US Government features ongoing H1N1 information at Flu.gov. The Department of Defense announced Friday, “Effective immediately, all Army medics will carry two bottles of 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer as part of their duty uniform. One bottle will be for their personal use, the other is available to give to soldiers who do not have any hand sanitizer.” DOD said, “[I]nfluenza virus can survive on environmental surfaces and can infect a person for two to eight hours after being deposited on the surface.”
The Star-Tribune said, “As of Wednesday, only 11 million doses had been shipped to health departments, doctor's offices and other providers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials…”
The presidential proclamation doesn’t appear to be conspicuously posted on official sites, a nod perhaps to the administration’s goal of exerting greater control of messaging.
The WHO provides a useful analysis, ‘Clinical Features of Severe Cases of Pandemic Influenza.’ WHO said, “[C]oncern is now focused on the clinical course and management of small subsets of patients who rapidly develop very severe progressive pneumonia. In these patients, severe pneumonia is often associated with failure of other organs, or marked worsening of underlying asthma or chronic obstructive airway disease…Treatment of these patients is difficult and demanding, strongly suggesting that emergency rooms and intensive care units will experience the heaviest burden of patient care during the pandemic.” In approximately 30 percent of cases, secondary bacterial infections have been found.
WHO also said the analysis showed, “Participants agreed that the risk of severe or fatal illness is highest in three groups: pregnant women, especially during the third trimester of pregnancy, children younger than 2 years of age, and people with chronic lung disease, including asthma. Neurological disorders can increase the risk of severe disease in children.”
The CDC said more than 1,000 people in the U.S. have died, with 20,000 hospitalizations, according to a Fox News report on H1N1.
Obama declares H1N1 flu national emergency
by Kay B. Day
The US Report (Oct. 24, 2009)
Kay B. Day, Editor
Update
The Associated Press has an update on information about the H1N1 state of emergency. Apparently off-site shelters may be added to treat victims if hospitals become overwhelmed.
Kay B. Day, Editor
Update
FDA Authorizes Emergency Use of Intravenous Antiviral Peramivir for 2009 H1N1 Influenza for Certain Patients, Settings
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that, in response to a request from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the investigational antiviral drug peramivir intravenous (IV) in certain adult and pediatric patients with confirmed or suspected 2009 H1N1 influenza infection who are admitted to a hospital.
Reader Comments (1)
The WHO freely admits to having falsifyied statistics in the past in order to drive their agenda. What is concerns me even more is that my sources say that the product circulars for H1N1 vaccines are no longer available. Why can't we know what is in the vaccine?