Swine Flu Watch: UN says $1B needed to combat swine flu; Harry Potter’s best friend recovers from the disease
>>CDC: U.S. may need 600 million swine flu vaccine doses
Questions abound about how to best inoculate the world against swine flu as health officials plan for a campaign that could dwarf any previous flu vaccination effort.
Among the issues to be resolved are the amount of vaccine likely to be available, the timing of the vaccine’s availability, how it would be distributed, who would provide the shots, who would pay for them and whether it will be possible to track potential side effects.
At a recent meeting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health officials said U.S. demand could reach 600 million doses of vaccine, enough for two doses for each of the approximate 300 million people in the United States. That’s in case two doses are required for children and adults under 50, CDC representatives said.
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Small studies in ferrets at the CDC suggest that when compared with seasonal flu, the virus appears to cause more severe disease but also seems to spread less easily.
Full Article: here.
>>UN chief: $1 billion needed against swine flu
The United Nations may need more than $1 billion this year to help poor countries fight the swine flu pandemic, the world body’s Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.
“The funding has not been flowing as we have been expecting,” Ban said. “We are now mobilizing all resources possible.”
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“Many of the developing countries have weak health systems,” said Chan. “They actually go into this pandemic what I call empty-handed. They don’t have antivirals. They don’t have vaccines. They don’t have antibiotics.”
Full Article: here.
>>Harry Potter actor tells of swine flu fear
Actor Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, spoke Monday of his fears after contracting swine flu, saying he initially thought he might die.
Grint described contracting the A(H1N1) virus, which has spread around the world, as “quite scary” but he recovered after spending a few days in bed.
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The 20-year-old’s publicist confirmed on Saturday that he had suffered from the virus, taking several days off filming the next movie in the blockbuster series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
Full Article: here.
Tags: h1n1, news round-up, swine flu
