At least one million people in the US are infected with the new flu virus H1N1, much more than the official number of cases, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday. The amazing statistic is based on epidemiological modeling, Lyn Finelli told the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group that advises the US government on the use of vaccines. ACIP met for the last 3 days in Atlanta to discuss, among other things, ways to contain the pandemic.
The vaccine against pandemic influenza is not yet ready, nor are recommendations on who should get it. But states and cities should already start planning a mass vaccination campaign this fall. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters at a press conference following the ACIP meeting. She said they should think about how to get the vaccine to those at highest risk of serious illness: "We want states and communities and health care providers to think about how they would be able to vaccinate young people, pregnant women, people with underlying health conditions such as diabetes and asthma. "
Schuchat also presented new data on the skewed age distribution of the victims of today. The median age of hospitalized patients (H1N1) patients in the US is 19, it is said her, and the median age of those who died of an infection is 37, she called "young enough for anyone to be dying of an infectious disease. "Regarding the number of infected Americans, the official count is 27 127 confirmed cases so far, but everyone knows that is a gross underestimation. Even the new, 1 million estimate is probably low, Schuchat said . "I think it will be a little higher than when we have finished modeling."
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