WP: US may add shots for swine flu to fall regimen

[Guest guest]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/05/AR2009050503378.\

html

U.S. May Add Shots for Swine Flu to Fall Regimen

By Kindy and Ceci Connolly

Washington Post Staff Writers

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The Obama administration is considering an unprecedented fall

vaccination campaign that could entail giving Americans three flu

shots -- one to combat annual seasonal influenza and two targeted at

the new swine flu virus spreading across the globe.

If enacted, the multibillion-dollar effort would represent the first

time that top federal health officials have asked Americans to get

more than one flu vaccine in a year, raising serious challenges

concerning production, distribution and the ability to track

potentially severe side effects.

Another option, said Dale Morse, chairman of the advisory committee

on immunization practices at the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, is adding to the seasonal flu shot an ingredient targeted

at the new virus.

Experts in and out of the administration are evaluating a raft of

complicated issues, including who ought to receive an inoculation

against the swine flu and whether private vaccine makers can

simultaneously manufacture the standard 180 million doses as well as

up to 600 million rounds of a new vaccine.

" We are moving forward with making a vaccine, " said Robin , a

director with the Department of Health and Human Services who

oversees pandemic response programs. said that although a

formal decision about the swine flu vaccine has not been made, if the

government goes ahead, it would probably produce two doses for all

Americans. If the threat diminishes, he said, health officials could

decide to produce doses for only a portion of the population.

Vaccine and pandemic experts are working with the administration to

determine how to produce, test, track and educate the public about

two different influenza vaccines in the same flu season.

" They have never tried this before, and there is going to be a great

deal of confusion, " said Schaffner, chairman of the

Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Memories of the nation's earlier experience with a swine flu vaccine

present another challenge. In 1976, hundreds of Americans developed

neurological disorders after they were vaccinated for a swine flu

strain. The public was asked to receive one of two vaccines developed

to combat the strain.

Health officials have asked manufacturers to ramp up production of

the seasonal vaccine scheduled for rollout this fall to make way for

the possible mass production of a swine flu vaccine.

A decision on whether to produce such a vaccine will have to be made

soon, because it typically takes five months to produce a new vaccine

and authorities would want it available for the next flu season.

Some medical experts said rolling out two vaccines would present

additional challenges in terms of testing and tracking adverse

reactions. Health officials and manufacturers will need to know what

the negative reactions might be for each vaccine on its own and in

combination with the other. Initial tests would be done on animals,

and then clinical trials would be conducted with people to determine

side effects before either vaccine is rolled out.

Harvey Fineberg, president of the Institute of Medicine, part of the

National Academy of Sciences, said officials will have to weigh the

risks of the time spent on testing.

" All this takes time, money and organization, " said Fineberg, who led

an investigation into the government's handling of the 1976 swine flu

vaccinations.

The greater challenge will be tracking any adverse reactions as

millions of Americans get multiple vaccinations in a matter of months

this fall and winter.

" There will be adverse effects to any vaccine. That's just science, "

said Hattwick, who ran the CDC's vaccine-tracking system

during the last swine flu scare.

Hattwick said a " real-time " tracking system would need to be

established to provide constant updates to the CDC about adverse

reactions. That information, he said, should include lot numbers for

the vaccines so health officials can trace each side effect to the

manufacturer and the date of production. Routine flu vaccinations are

not traced with such precision because reporting is voluntary and

often delayed, Hattwick said.

S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and

Infectious Diseases, said he does not expect additional adverse

reactions with two vaccinations. The traditional flu vaccine is

designed to attack the three flu strains health officials believe to

be the greatest threats in a regular season, he said.

" In a regular seasonal flu, you get three vaccines. Adding an

additional one should not present a problem, " Fauci said.

A record-keeping system would also need to be devised to track which

doses patients have received, health experts said.

Without such a system, patients could lose track of which of the

three shots they have received or could fail to get the second swine

flu inoculation at the proper time.

" We will have to keep them straight and separate, " Vanderbilt's

Schaffner said. " This will be an enormous challenge, and we haven't

figured out how to do it yet. That's one of the things we are trying

to sort out. "

Staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.

Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Washington State, USA

Vaccines - http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/vaccine.htm or

http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm

Vaccine Dangers, Childhood Disease Classes & Homeopathy Online/email

courses - next classes April 22 & 23

http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccineclass.htm or

http://www.wellwithin1.com/homeo.htm

[Guest guest]

Are you kidding me?!?! What, one shot isn't enough so they want to add more??

A flu that is no more deadly then any of the other strains around? A flu strain

that may not be around later? Geeeeeeezzzzzzzzzz

---- Sheri Nakken <vaccineinfo@...> wrote:

>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/05/AR2009050503378.\

html

>

> U.S. May Add Shots for Swine Flu to Fall Regimen

>

> By Kindy and Ceci Connolly

> Washington Post Staff Writers

> Wednesday, May 6, 2009

>

>

>

> The Obama administration is considering an unprecedented fall

> vaccination campaign that could entail giving Americans three flu

> shots -- one to combat annual seasonal influenza and two targeted at

> the new swine flu virus spreading across the globe.

>

> If enacted, the multibillion-dollar effort would represent the first

> time that top federal health officials have asked Americans to get

> more than one flu vaccine in a year, raising serious challenges

> concerning production, distribution and the ability to track

> potentially severe side effects.

>

> Another option, said Dale Morse, chairman of the advisory committee

> on immunization practices at the Centers for Disease Control and

> Prevention, is adding to the seasonal flu shot an ingredient targeted

> at the new virus.

>

> Experts in and out of the administration are evaluating a raft of

> complicated issues, including who ought to receive an inoculation

> against the swine flu and whether private vaccine makers can

> simultaneously manufacture the standard 180 million doses as well as

> up to 600 million rounds of a new vaccine.

>

> " We are moving forward with making a vaccine, " said Robin , a

> director with the Department of Health and Human Services who

> oversees pandemic response programs. said that although a

> formal decision about the swine flu vaccine has not been made, if the

> government goes ahead, it would probably produce two doses for all

> Americans. If the threat diminishes, he said, health officials could

> decide to produce doses for only a portion of the population.

>

> Vaccine and pandemic experts are working with the administration to

> determine how to produce, test, track and educate the public about

> two different influenza vaccines in the same flu season.

>

> " They have never tried this before, and there is going to be a great

> deal of confusion, " said Schaffner, chairman of the

> Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

>

> Memories of the nation's earlier experience with a swine flu vaccine

> present another challenge. In 1976, hundreds of Americans developed

> neurological disorders after they were vaccinated for a swine flu

> strain. The public was asked to receive one of two vaccines developed

> to combat the strain.

>

> Health officials have asked manufacturers to ramp up production of

> the seasonal vaccine scheduled for rollout this fall to make way for

> the possible mass production of a swine flu vaccine.

>

> A decision on whether to produce such a vaccine will have to be made

> soon, because it typically takes five months to produce a new vaccine

> and authorities would want it available for the next flu season.

>

> Some medical experts said rolling out two vaccines would present

> additional challenges in terms of testing and tracking adverse

> reactions. Health officials and manufacturers will need to know what

> the negative reactions might be for each vaccine on its own and in

> combination with the other. Initial tests would be done on animals,

> and then clinical trials would be conducted with people to determine

> side effects before either vaccine is rolled out.

>

> Harvey Fineberg, president of the Institute of Medicine, part of the

> National Academy of Sciences, said officials will have to weigh the

> risks of the time spent on testing.

>

> " All this takes time, money and organization, " said Fineberg, who led

> an investigation into the government's handling of the 1976 swine flu

> vaccinations.

>

> The greater challenge will be tracking any adverse reactions as

> millions of Americans get multiple vaccinations in a matter of months

> this fall and winter.

>

> " There will be adverse effects to any vaccine. That's just science, "

> said Hattwick, who ran the CDC's vaccine-tracking system

> during the last swine flu scare.

>

> Hattwick said a " real-time " tracking system would need to be

> established to provide constant updates to the CDC about adverse

> reactions. That information, he said, should include lot numbers for

> the vaccines so health officials can trace each side effect to the

> manufacturer and the date of production. Routine flu vaccinations are

> not traced with such precision because reporting is voluntary and

> often delayed, Hattwick said.

>

> S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and

> Infectious Diseases, said he does not expect additional adverse

> reactions with two vaccinations. The traditional flu vaccine is

> designed to attack the three flu strains health officials believe to

> be the greatest threats in a regular season, he said.

>

> " In a regular seasonal flu, you get three vaccines. Adding an

> additional one should not present a problem, " Fauci said.

>

> A record-keeping system would also need to be devised to track which

> doses patients have received, health experts said.

>

> Without such a system, patients could lose track of which of the

> three shots they have received or could fail to get the second swine

> flu inoculation at the proper time.

>

> " We will have to keep them straight and separate, " Vanderbilt's

> Schaffner said. " This will be an enormous challenge, and we haven't

> figured out how to do it yet. That's one of the things we are trying

> to sort out. "

>

> Staff researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.

>

>

>

> Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath

> Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Washington State, USA

> Vaccines - http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/vaccine.htm or

> http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm

> Vaccine Dangers, Childhood Disease Classes & Homeopathy Online/email

> courses - next classes April 22 & 23

> http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccineclass.htm or

> http://www.wellwithin1.com/homeo.htm

>