LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Centers for Disease Control says 98 percent of
flu cases circulating right now are H1N1 and they're mainly occurring in
children and young adults. While we're not getting hit has hard as folks in the
southeast, experts say brace yourself because it's going to be a long flu
season.
It's dominated the news all summer and even with the new school season scares
about swine flu, some people just don't get it.
"Why is everyone worried? I don't get it," said L.A. resident Tom Gaukin.
"There's a reason for some people to worry," said infectious disease expert Dr.
Jeffrey Galpin.
Dr. Galpin says the concern is very real for people with underlying health
conditions, the young and pregnant women.
He says the immune systems of these groups would have difficulty handling the
secondary infection of pneumonia, but for most healthy people they should be
fine.
"It doesn't look like that outside the number of people getting sick that this
is going to cause that many more deaths in the same population," said Dr.
Galpin. "It's just occurring earlier, we haven't seen it before and we haven't
had exactly the amount of time that we usually get to make a vaccine to protect
everybody."
But what about that new vaccine?
"It is highly unlikely, not impossible, but unlikely that it will be any more
dangerous, or higher risk than any other year with any other average vaccine,"
said Dr. Galpin.
One of the most commonly asked questions about the vaccination is if it will
prevent the onset of the H1N1.
"No, it will probably be 70 to 80 percent effective," said Dr. Galpin.
That's how effective the regular flu shot is. Experts say how a vaccine protects
is different in everyone.
"We each have a different pattern of susceptibility. And we will be giving it at
different times and there are other underlying diseases," said Dr. Galpin. "It
won't be that good in the very old, but it's much, much better than not doing
it."
New studies find the vaccine being tested against the virus is even more
effective than researchers had thought. It appears to work in a single dose and
it takes effect rapidly. Supplies of the swine flu vaccine are expected to be
available in mid-October, but the seasonal flu vaccine is available now.
Source : KABC-TV/DT
