H1N1 Flu Still Around

  • This fall, the H1N1 vaccine will be combined with the regular flu shot. (Photo courtesy of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention)

You might think the flu season is over, but H1N1 flu is still around. Rebecca Williams reports health officials still want you to get vaccinated against the virus:

Transcript

You might think the flu season is over, but H1N1 flu is still around. Rebecca Williams reports health officials still want you to get vaccinated against the virus:

H1N1 flu peaked in the U-S last October and November.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates through the middle of January, 57 million Americans got sick and 12-thousand people died.

Right now, most of the people getting sick with H1N1 are in the Southeastern U-S.

Tom Skinner is with the CDC.

“We wouldn’t be surprised to see activity continue into the spring and early summer. How much activity we may see moving forward into the fall and winter it’s just hard to tell.”

He says anyone who hasn’t gotten the vaccine should. Especially people with the greatest risk of complications from the flu. Those are pregnant women, kids younger than 5 years old and adults older than 65.

This fall, the H1N1 vaccine will be combined with the regular flu shot.

For The Environment Report, I’m Rebecca Williams.

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A Rush on Face Masks for Swine Flu

  • Pharmacies have seen a rush on surgical masks, like this one, in response to the swine flu (Photo courtesy of the National Institutes of Health)

Some pharmacies are running out of face masks because people are buying them to try to protect themselves from swine flu. Lester Graham has more on that:

Transcript

Some pharmacies are running out of face masks because people are buying them to try to protect themselves from swine flu. Lester Graham has more on that:

One infectious disease specialist told us if we get to the point of an epidemic, anything that covers your mouth would probably be helpful.

But, people are not waiting until it’s a full-fledged epidemic before getting face masks.

One pharmacy we visited usually sells three different kinds of masks. It was sold out.

Those who can’t find masks at the local pharmacy are sometimes directed to hardware stores.

Lowe’s Public Relations indicated it has seen an increase in popularity of dust and respirator masks, but the home improvement chain declined to give specific numbers.

Health officials say if you’re going to use a dust mask, buy one rated “N-95.” It filters out 95% of particles.

But, some health officials say, it’s better for those who are sick to wear them than it is for you to wear one for protection from the swine flu.

For The Environment Report, I’m Lester Graham.

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Study Tests Masks to Prevent Flu Pandemic

Flu season is here. And this year the campus at the University of Michigan will be teeming with students wearing surgical masks. But it’s not a sign that a pandemic has hit the US. Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

Flu season is here. And this year the campus at the University of Michigan will be teeming with students wearing surgical masks. But it’s not a sign that a pandemic has hit the US. Tracy Samilton reports:


The students will be participating in a massive study to determine if wearing surgical masks really helps to cut down on the risk of getting the flu. University of Michigan researcher Arnold Monto says wearing a mask may end up having only a small effect. But he says it’s still important to know for sure.


“The reason these kinds of differences may be very important is they’re easier to implement than taking medication, so even if it has a very small effect it will end up having a major impact when we do have the inevitable pandemic.”


Students will be expected to wear surgical masks in the dorms, and they’ll be encouraged to wear them everywhere they go. The study will last for six weeks, the expected duration of the flu season.


For the Environment Report, I’m Tracy Samilton.

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