U.S. swine flu tally nears 10,000
15 swine-flu deaths in U.S. as of May 29
According to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data released at 11 am, Friday, May 29, the number of H1N1 (”swine flu”) cases in the U.S. is rapidly approaching the 10,000 mark. (see table) In fact, it likely will have reached that level by the time you read this, given the rate at which cases have increased over approximately the past week.
Meanwhile, health officials seem intent upon emphasizing the relatively mild symptoms of this so-called “new” or “novel” H1N1 influenza, as the CDC calls it. At the same time, the U.S. government has entered into a deal to acquire swine flu vaccine for persons it deems most worthy.
As part of a $1 billion investment announced by the Obama administration, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has taken steps towards securing swine flu vaccine for approximately 24 million people who make the government’s top priority list. This list includes active service personnel; police, fire and rescue personnel; health professionals; and pregnant women and small children.
Potentially alarming is the fact that drug companies involved in the deal may be jockeying to get emergency approval of adjuvants—vaccine additives that induce a strong immune response from the body—that are not currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Vaccine additives
Use of certain adjuvants and preservatives has been at the heart of recent controversies over vaccinations and their possible involvement in such disorders as autism and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). While the underlying causes for autism and GBS are unknown, even health professionals have come down on both sides of this argument.
For example, such staunch consumer advocates as Russell Blaylock, MD (a board-certified neurosurgeon) and Joseph Mercola, DO (a family practitioner) have published strong assertions against the use of vaccines in general and the use of additives such as thimerosal (a preservative containing mercury) in particular.
Therefore, at a time when the very use of adjuvants and other vaccine additives tends to be suspect in the public eye, manufacturers may see an opportunity in pleading emergency usage to get initial approval of vaccine ingredients that might face tough sledding—and possibly total roadblock—on their way to acceptance under normal circumstances.
The use of adjuvants in a vaccine allows the manufacturer to reduce the required amount of antigen, which is the virus particle or other agent causing the immunity. Therefore it reduces the time and often the cost required to produce a given number of vaccination doses.
U.S. H1N1 infections and deaths by state as of May 29, 2009
State Confirmed and Probable Cases Deaths Alabama 71 Arkansas 6 Arizona 540 3 California 553 Colorado 68 Connecticut 149 Delaware 115 Florida 165 Georgia 28 Hawaii 71 Idaho 12 Illinois 1002 2 Indiana 138 Iowa 71 Kansas 34 Kentucky 50 Louisiana 114 Maine 11 Maryland 48 Massachusetts 416 Michigan 229 Minnesota 47 Mississippi 13 Missouri 29 1 Montana 14 Nebraska 43 Nevada 84 New Hampshire 35 New Jersey 72 New Mexico 97 New York 553 4 North Carolina 14 North Dakota 6 Ohio 18 Oklahoma 67 Oregon 132 Pennsylvania 123 Rhode Island 13 South Carolina 41 South Dakota 6 Tennessee 100 Texas 1403 3 Utah 122 1 Vermont 3 Virginia 29 Washington 575 1 Washington, D.C. 14 Wisconsin 1430 Wyoming 1 State Confirmed and Probable Cases Deaths Totals: 49 8975 15 Source: CDC
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