Posts Tagged ‘swine flu’
January 8, 2010
By Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN editor-in-chief emeritus
At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) press briefing yesterday on pandemic H1N1 influenza, spokesperson Dr. Anne Schuchat noted that while H1N1 activity was down, the virus was still more prevalent than what is normally seen for influenza. Warning that people should still get immunized against it, she also noted, “We also saw an uptick in pneumonia or influenza deaths in this past week. And that isn’t something that we necessarily see around the Christmas holiday.”
The CDC is worrying about a growing complacency among the public. To illustrate the need for continued vigilance and immunizations, she showed this graph (also reproduced below) mapping the deaths from the 1957 influenza activity. You’ll note there was an initial wave in fall 1957, followed by a lull in which deaths decreased, and then a resurgence in which the number of deaths peaked in March 1958, close to the level in the first wave.
Hit it while it’s down. According to Schuchat, the lull (where we currently are) “essentially gave the all-clear whistle in that [1957] December/January time period.” “They had vaccine,” she noted, “but they didn’t encourage its use.” For now, she said, the message is this: “The illness is down. There’s plenty of vaccine. It’s a key window of opportunity. We don’t want to repeat the story from 1957.”
Nuff said.
Posted in H1N1 virus (swine flu), Shawn Kennedy, AJN editor-in-chief | Tagged CDC, Dr. Schuchat, swine flu | 2 Comments »
November 30, 2009
By Shawn Kennedy, editorial director
Last week, I got away from my desk, computer, and stacks of paper and (briefly) became a “real nurse” again. As a member of my county’s Medical Reserve Corps, I volunteered to help administer H1N1 flu vaccine at a local school. Our vaccinees were children over two years and young adults up to 24. We were distributing FluMist, a live attenuated vaccine administered intranasally (see the article on FluMist in the October AJN). The applicator looks like just like a syringe, but without a needle.
I was impressed with how organized the process was. Employees of the health department were there controlling traffic, fetching supplies, inputting data, interviewing new arrivals and helping them complete forms. A physician was on hand to screen individuals if there were any questions about whether someone should receive the vaccine.
I was one of 20 RNs, most of whom worked as county public health nurses. We had a brief reminder of the vaccine administration procedure (we had received instructions and a link to a video demonstration about administering the vaccine the prior week), and then were sent to our stations at tables in the large gymnasium. There was a light-hearted and almost casual atmosphere—the key to it, I think, was that there were no needles involved. Such looks of relief when I took the rubber tip off the applicator!
I had just one solitary young man come to my table. He looked embarrassed and a little nervous, judging from his leg twitching up and down. Mostly it was groups: a parent with two children, two parents with one child. There was one father with six children all under the age of 12! The reactions and questions were as varied as the people: trendy adolescents who kept their cool while a nasal applicator was inserted into a nostril; giggly little girls who were so ticklish that I could hardly get near their noses with the applicator; adorable three-year-olds who didn’t care what I did as long as they got a sticker. There was one very serious 16-year-old boy who wanted to know “how it worked.” I gave him the science behind the vaccine. He then said he only meant where was I going to put the applicator. My bad.
It was a good reminder to me of what I enjoyed the most about being a nurse—using knowledge and skill to help people; knowing that what I was doing was valuable and made a difference. It was nice to feel that again.
Posted in H1N1 virus (swine flu), professional identity, Shawn Kennedy, AJN editor-in-chief | Tagged nurse, swine flu | Leave a Comment »
November 13, 2009
Below we reproduce a letter from Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to all U.S. health care professionals. It explains why the FDA (and most experts) believe the current H1N1 vaccine is as safe as any of the seasonal flu vaccines that are produced using the same process. Many nurses remain reluctant to get the vaccine, as are many patients. Some we’ve heard from have changed their minds as they’ve seen the sudden and devastating effects of this virus on patients in their hospitals. We hope this letter will provide some context for thinking about the current H1N1 vaccine, and for addressing the concerns of patients.
Dear Healthcare Professional,
I am writing first to thank you for your extraordinary efforts during the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak.
As this new infectious disease sweeps through communities across the country, you must juggle your usual patient care responsibilities with a special role in influenza response. Delays in vaccine delivery and the persistence of myths about vaccination have not made your job any easier. Thank you for rising to this public health challenge.
I am also writing to provide information that can be helpful as you talk to patients about the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccines — the best tools we have to prevent severe illness and death caused by the virus.
As the Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), I am pleased to have this opportunity to communicate with you directly at this key moment in time.
The Department of Health and Human Services is working with influenza vaccine manufacturers and state and local public health officials to make these vaccines widely available. So far, more than 41 million doses of the 2009 H1N1 vaccine have been allocated to the states for distribution across the country, and more is becoming available every day.
Some of your patients may be asking how the FDA, the manufacturers, and the scientific community can have confidence in vaccines that were available just six months after the 2009 H1N1 virus emerged. Understanding more about the manufacturing and approval process for these vaccines should help you to answer their questions.
Every year, FDA and vaccine manufacturers follow a series of steps to make a new influenza vaccine targeted to the three main circulating strains of influenza. These steps have produced effective and very safe vaccines time and again, adding up to hundreds of millions of doses administered in the United States alone.
We followed this same path for the 2009 H1N1 vaccines.
Making the 2009 H1N1 Vaccine
First, scientists at laboratories in the United States and elsewhere modified the 2009 H1N1 virus into a version suitable to be used as the “seed” for the development of vaccines. The process that was followed is similar in every respect to that which is employed every year for the preparation of seasonal influenza vaccines, as slightly different strains appear regularly each year. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in ethical issues, H1N1 virus (swine flu) | Tagged FDA, nurses, safety, swine flu | 1 Comment »
October 28, 2009
The above is an excerpt from a North Dakota nurse’s vivid and painful letter to the editor about the Spanish influenza, published in the December 1918 issue of AJN. To read the entire letter, click here (and then click on the PDF link in the upper right corner of the page) or click on the excerpt itself. We’ve combed through our archives for articles dealing with various influenza epidemics and threats of epidemics, and found some fascinating material that puts what we’re currently going through in some perspective. To see the entire collection of articles, covering 1918 to the present, click here. (Note: some articles are free and some are accessible only to AJN subscribers. The older articles are available only in PDF format.)
Posted in children's health, H1N1 virus (swine flu), media depictions of nursing, nursing perspective, nursing shortage, professional identity, writing and nursing | Tagged AJN archives, H1N1, influenza epidemic, nurses, Spanish flu, swine flu, vaccination | Leave a Comment »
October 2, 2009
Internet Splat Map (jurvetson/via Flickr)
Nurses, you’re being watched: a marketing Website has an article on the growing influence of nurses online. Let us know what you think. Here’s an excerpt:
. . . Manhattan Research recently released a report about nurses online noting that approximately three out of four U.S. nurses recommend health websites to patients. The study notes that the average nurse spends eight hours per week online for professional purposes, which is just as much time as physicians, and almost all of them use the Internet in between patient consultations. Nurses are also proactive in researching medical product information specifically online – over eighty percent have visited a pharma, biotech, or device company website in the past year.
In addition to the prevalence of the Internet as a research and patient communication tool, nurses are continuing to find their unique voices online through a growing number of prominent nursing blogs such as Codeblog and Emergiblog which both share powerful stories of healthcare from the nurses’ point of view.
Posted in children's health, H1N1 virus (swine flu), health care reform, writing and nursing | Tagged bloggers, flu pandemic, H1N1, health care costs, health care reform, healthcare coops, influenza vaccine, internet, marketing, nurse blogger, patient safety, pregnant women, roundup, swine flu, Tamiflu, Twitter, untapped market, vaccine safety | 1 Comment »
September 29, 2009
By Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN editorial director & interim editor-in-chief
'Nuff Said by ElektraCute / Elektra Noelani Fisher, via Flickr.
While many people (including nurses) remain relatively unworried about the coming flu season, others, it seems, are on high alert. I do wonder about the millions of dollars being spent (and being made) in the name of H1N1 (swine flu). I’ve heard of several seminars touting “must-know” facts and bearing titles that might make hospital administrators feel negligent if they don’t send staff (at hefty registration fees). Many companies, including mine, are distributing bottles of hand sanitizer to employees. And I can’t even imagine how many N95 respirators have sold since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently recommended their use by health care workers caring for patients with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza.
Take it seriously. Still, as a former emergency nurse, I’m all for being prepared for disasters. This influenza should be taken seriously. As of September 20, the World Health Organization reports there have been 3,917 deaths and more than 300,000 confirmed cases worldwide, although the actual number of cases is probably much higher. The latest surveillance report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates widespread flu activity throughout much of the United States already this year.
Mandated vaccinations for health care workers. The unusually high number of U.S. cases last spring—not typically flu season in the northern hemisphere—have some asking whether we’re in for a more severe and more deadly flu season, which officially begins on October 4. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in H1N1 virus (swine flu), nursing perspective, Shawn Kennedy, AJN editor-in-chief | Tagged controversial, disaster care, ER closed, H1N1, mandated vaccinations, N95 respirators, preparedness, swine flu | Leave a Comment »
September 28, 2009
By Alison Bulman, AJN senior editorial coordinator
the school bus routine by woodley wonderworks, via Flickr.
On Friday the New York Times reported that a shortage of school nurses is making students more vulnerable to the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus, stating that “[m]any districts have few or no nurses to prevent or respond to outbreaks, leaving students more vulnerable to a virus that spreads easily in classrooms and takes a heavier toll on children and young adults.”
The article acknowledges the key role played by school nurse Mary Pappas, who we interviewed for this blog shortly after she’d helped identify the first U.S. cases of H1N1 at a school in Queens. As AJN reported in June, school nurses have been and will continue to be on the front lines of efforts to prevent or manage outbreaks. But the school nursing shortage is acute, with just one nurse for every 1,155 students nationally, a ratio that the American Federation of Teachers has called “dangerous.” With a new school year underway, the Times reports, school districts are relying more heavily on non–health care personnel to identify and isolate sick kids and monitor absences.
For more on issues related to school nurses and nursing, see these recent posts:
Can School Nurses Help Prevent Heat Stroke Fatalities in High School Football?
Nurse Organizations Oppose Move to Allow Non-Licensed Personnel to Give Insulin to Students
Posted in children's health, H1N1 virus (swine flu), nursing shortage, school nurses | Tagged H1N1, Mary Pappas, nursing shortage, school nurses, swine flu | 1 Comment »
September 9, 2009
By Jacob Molyneux, blog editor
Nurse blogger Not Nurse Ratched has written a post on her decision not to get the H1N1 vaccine shot until she is more convinced of its safety.
I’m just urging caution against the knee-jerk fear reaction that is, no doubt, going to make hordes of people swarm out to clamor for this vaccine. I’ll be watching for more data on it and might modify my decision, but for now I’m going to just say no.
Judging from responses to a recent post we ran on the topic (“cancel my subscription” appeared more than once), the loudest clamor may be from those who are driven by fear of the vaccine rather than fear of the H1N1 virus. In the post in question, Doug Olsen, a nurse ethicist, examined the ethical side of the question of whether or not nurses should get vaccinated.
(Whether or not you agree with Olsen’s guarded conclusion in favor of vaccination, his post demonstrated how a professional ethicist uses a set of concepts as tools—not to come up with a definitive answer that can be called “right” or “wrong” but instead to examine the moral dimensions of a decision. We hope that some of the concepts he used will be seen as tools to help nurses make their own informed decisions.)
By way of update, here’s an addendum we received from Olsen that addresses some of the concerns about vaccine safety expressed in the various comments:
Any obligation of nurses to protect the patient by getting flu vaccine depends on trust in the science and in the system for doing and reporting the science. Reasons for not trusting the system run the gamut from easily dismissed conspiracy theories to healthy, well-founded skepticism. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in ethical issues, H1N1 virus (swine flu), nursing perspective | Tagged ethics, H1N1, nurse ethicist, swine flu, vaccination | 14 Comments »
July 16, 2009
From Sidelong, via Flickr
From an AP story about the H1N1 flu vaccine that was widely syndicated today:
Countries with flu vaccine plants might decide to seize all vaccines and ban their export, thus breaking the pharmaceutical contracts promising other countries vaccine supplies. These private contracts are not binding international law between two countries . . .
Picture this: in early September of this year, the novel H1N1 influenza virus mutates into a strain that can quickly lead to wracking fevers, violent vomiting, respiratory failure, dehydration, and death. It is also highly resistant to existing antiviral agents. The first cases of this new strain are identified after a spate of deaths in a Kansas City nursing home as well as among members of a church choir in the same city. The new strain quickly shows up in a number of major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and then in several European countries. As hospitals are swamped and the number of deaths rises unabated, borders are sealed between countries—but it’s too late to stop the new strain from spreading as the fall and winter flu season gets into full swing.
Luckily, the U.S. has long-standing contracts with several major pharmaceutical companies for the flu vaccine, which has by mid-September entered mass production in several locations. The only problem: up to 80% of the this vaccine is being produced outside the U.S. borders, and the people of the countries in which it is being produced don’t believe their leaders have any right to let those companies honor their contracts with the U.S. if it means a large portion of those countries’ populations will have to wait another several months for vaccination. Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in ethical issues, H1N1 virus (swine flu), human rights, international nursing | Tagged flu pandemic, guidelines, influenza vaccine, nurses, swine flu, swine flu vaccine | Leave a Comment »
