The Edmond Sun

Nation & World

October 28, 2009

U.S. swine flu vaccine outlook improving, CDC says

ATLANTA — More than 22 million doses of swine flu vaccine are available now, and most Americans should soon find it easier to get their dose, U.S. health officials said Tuesday.

"We're beginning to get to significant increases in the availability," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at a briefing.

Last week there were just 14 million doses on hand, despite initial predictions that as many as 120 million would be ready by mid-October. The government later slashed that estimate to 45 million. The slow supply trickle has frustrated Americans, who have stood in line for hours in some parts of the country.

The shortage has probably increased demand, Frieden said.

"It's quite likely that that too little vaccine is one of the things that's making people more interested in getting vaccinated, frankly. When we have shortages, we see an increase in demand," he said.

The vaccine is grown in eggs in a reliable but slow process, and smaller amounts of it were being produced per egg than expected. There were other snags, too, but health officials say manufacturers have overcome most of those and are making the vaccine more speedily.

Over time, the government expects to have as many as 225 million doses of the new vaccine if needed.

CDC officials estimate that the swine flu virus, first identified in April, has killed at least 1,000 Americans and caused at least mild illness in many millions of others.

The pandemic started in a frightening burst of cases in certain parts of the country, including New York, Boston and parts of the Southwest. Illnesses diminished somewhat in the summer and then began increasing across the country as schools reopened roughly two months ago.

Swine flu cases are waning in Georgia and some parts of the country lately, but still increasing in others. Health officials say it's hard to predict what will happen in the next few months.



___



On the Net:



CDC swine flu update: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm

Text Only
Nation & World
  • Attack on protesters in Egypt leaves 11 dead

    At least 11 people were killed Wednesday when unknown attackers armed with guns and firebombs clashed with protesters near Egypt’s Defense Ministry in an escalation of violence highlighting political divisions that threaten the country ahead of this month’s presidential election.

    May 3, 2012

  • Romney not likely to pick running mate soon, but tryouts are clearly under way

    When Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire joined Mitt Romney for a tour of fishing boats this week, she was doing more than campaigning in her home state for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and for slashing President Barack Obama’s regulatory policies.

    May 3, 2012

  • U.S. rethinking Chen Guangcheng’s wish to stay in China, official says

    A U.S. official said Washington was reassessing a blind Chinese activist’s wish to remain in China after learning that he now feared for his safety.

    May 3, 2012

  • Some pilots refuse to fly F-22 Raptor

    Some of the nation’s top aviators are refusing to fly the radar-evading F-22 Raptor, a fighter jet with ongoing problems with the oxygen systems that have plagued the fleet for four years.

    May 3, 2012

  • 120419_ET_TJE_FUNERAL_8.JPG SLIDESHOW: 5,000 mourners remember slain N.H. police chief More than 5,000 mourners paid tribute to Greenland, N.H., Police Chief Michael Maloney, who was fatally shot last week while executing a search warrant.

    April 20, 2012

  • Santorum suspends presidential campaign

    Former Sen. Rick Santorum, who shocked the political world by emerging from the back of the Republican presidential pack to pose a formidable challenge to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, suspended his campaign Tuesday.
    Santorum’s announcement in Gettysburg, Pa., effectively ends the Republican presidential primary season with Romney holding a sizable lead in delegates over Santorum, a former two-term Pennsylvania senator, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Ron Paul.

    April 10, 2012

  • Pakistan high court acts when government fails to, backers say

    In a country where nothing seems to work, it’s easy to see why Pakistan’s Supreme Court seizes the role of repairman with a firm grip and a heavy gavel.

    February 13, 2012

  • U.S. is eager to check out China’s future president

    Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping arrives in the United States on Monday for a high-profile visit where he’ll be honored as if he were the president of China — the post he’s expected to take next year.

    February 13, 2012

  • U.N. Security Council heads to Haiti for firsthand look

    When a 15-member delegation of the U.N. Security Council arrives in Haiti Monday for an on-the-ground look at the situation two years after a devastating earthquake, it will find a nation at fever pitch over carnival, but lukewarm or even hostile on the topic of United Nations troops.

    February 13, 2012

  • Venezuelan opposition chooses 1 candidate to oppose Chavez

    Venezuelans turned out in force Sunday and chose Henrique Capriles Radonski by almost a 1-million vote margin as the opposition candidate to face President Hugo Chavez in October.

    February 13, 2012

Poll

One year after Osama bin Laden’s death, do you believe the U.S. can say it has successfully completed the war on terror?

Yes
No
Don't know
     View Results