Filed by KOSU News in Health.
October 23, 2009

Federal health officials say the U.S. is without doubt in the middle of a second swine flu wave, with the virus more widespread than ever. Since its onset in April, the 2009 H1N1 virus has caused more than 1,000 deaths and more than 20,000 hospitalizations in this country, officials from the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention said Friday. Similarly, children’s deaths from flu and pneumonia have been higher than what is normally expected at this time of year.

“This remains largely a young person’s disease,” CDC Director Thomas Frieden said.

Compared to the seasonal flu, young people and children continue to be disproportionately affected by the virus. In the first 11 days of October, one in five kids have had influenza-like-illness — fever, cough, fatigue, aches and pains.

Since April 2009, there have been 95 confirmed pediatric 2009 H1N1 deaths, and nearly half of them have occurred during September and October, according to the CDC.

Across the country, dueling concerns persist: Some people worry they won’t have access to the vaccine, while others question the vaccine’s safety.

The H1N1 vaccine has been available for nearly three weeks, but health officials haven’t been able to deliver as many doses as previously expected. The CDC planned to have in hand 40 million doses by the end of October. But as of Friday, there were only 16.1 million doses available to states, according to the CDC.

Part of the problem is that the yield is lower than expected; manufacturers are having more trouble coaxing the virus to grow in the eggs than they’ve had with other vaccines.

Even as lines to get the vaccine are wrapping around the block in some places, many express high levels of distrust about the safety of the vaccine. According to a Harvard poll conducted in September, only 33 percent of people think the H1N1 vaccine is safe, compared with 57 percent who trust the seasonal flu vaccine.

Frieden said there is every reason to be confident in the safety of the H1N1 vaccine, which is produced the same way as the seasonal flu vaccine. Millions of doses of seasonal flu vaccine are administered every year, he said, with an excellent safety track record. Nor are health officials seeing any big changes in the genetic nature of the swine virus that would make it less susceptible to vaccine, he said.

CDC officials said they expect the flu will continue in waves, but ventured no predictions on how long the pandemic will last. Copyright 2009 National Public Radio