That Vaccination Thing

Swine Flu is on everyone's lips nowadays. (Well, I hope it's not on their lips.) Seriously though, everyone is talking about it, concerned about it, and for good reason too. But, I would caution people about allowing fear (their own personal fear and the fear-mongering used by the media to secure ratings and, of course, make money) to encourage their final decision.

My place of employment is offering both shots... the regular Flu shot and the Swine Flu shot. I cannot tell anyone else what to do in a situation like this but, I can say that, more than likely, I will take the regular flu shot and not worry about the swine flu shot unless it's absolutely necessary. When, you ask, might I know that it's absolutely necessary? I really and truly don't know... maybe if two or more people around me contract it.

So far, I have only known one individual personally who has come down with the Swine Flu and, thankfully, they were treated and appear to be doing reasonably well. I'm not going to panic and run out to get a vaccination that I might not need. I normally get a flu shot every year anyway, just as a precaution. I'm wary about getting this "new strain" injected into my system and I'm not making this decision out of fear. I'm making an informed decision based on what information I have right now.

However, if you've chosen to get the vaccination for swine flu or more accurately, the H1N1 strain, here is something you should know about an antiviral drug now being approved by the FDA for use:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is allowing the use of an experimental antiviral drug to treat severe cases of H1N1 or Swine Flu. The drug, Peramivir, is currently being developed by BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and is undergoing testing required for regular FDA approval. The FDA issued a so-called emergency use authorization late Friday that allows doctors to use Peramivir, which is delivered intravenously, in certain hospitalized adult and pediatric patients with confirmed or suspected H1N1 Influenza.

A handful of doctors have already treated patients with severe cases of H1N1 using Peramivir, obtained through the agency's expanded access rules that allow individual patients to obtain experimental drugs if certain conditions are met. The emergency-use authorization allows use of the drug without prior FDA approval.

The FDA said there's only limited clinical data about whether Peramivir is safe and effective but, "based upon the totality of scientific evidence available, it is reasonable to believe that Peramivir IV may be effective in certain patients." The company said it is completing production of approximately 130,000 courses of Peramivir and is prepared to make more, if required.

The FDA said Peramivir should only be used in patients who have not responded to or can't take the oral antiviral drug Tamiflu, made by Roche or Relenza, which is an inhaled drug made by GlaxoSmithKline PLC. Like Tamiflu and Relenza, Peramivir works by inhibiting neuraminidase, an enzyme that's involved with the spread of the Influenza virus within the body.

The Federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention asked the FDA to grant Peramivir emergency use to help cope with the Influenza pandemic, which has killed more than 1,000 people in the U.S. since April and hospitalized thousands more. The CDC will control and track distribution of Peramivir to hospitals.

As of October 17th, 46 states were reporting "widespread" Influenza activity and many doctors offices have been swamped with swine-flu patients. The CDC said more than 7% of outpatients visits in the week that ended October 17th were attributed to Influenza-like illnesses, a rate higher than during the peak of the last few Influenza seasons. The CDC said "many millions" of Americans have been sickened with H1N1 Influenza since the virus was first discovered in April.

The U.S. government has ordered enough vaccine to make up to 251 million doses if needed but. production has been slower than originally anticipated. According to the CDC, a total of 11.3 million doses of the vaccine had been shipped to U.S. doctors, hospitals, and clinics as of Wednesday out of a total of 14.1 million doses that manufacturers had shipped to warehouses by that time.

By Friday, 16.1 million doses of vaccine had been shipped to warehouses, the CDC said. The total is far below the government's most recent estimate that by the end of this month, about 28 million to 30 million doses would be shipped to warehouses for further distribution. That estimate itself is a revision, made last week from a prior expectation of about 40 million doses by the end of the month. In July, the government had predicted that about 100 million doses would be ready in October.

I just thought you should at least know about this one drug being used to prevent the spread of the virus and there are no doubt a few others on the table. Knowledge is power folks so, don't panic. Get educated and then make an informed decision. Just remember, fear and panic puts money in some people's pockets and does you no good in the end.

(Another public service announcement from the Maverick of All Bloggers!)