On Nov. 5, Trish Regan, the anchor for CNBC’s ‘The Call,’ reported that some Wall Street firms had received significant doses of H1N1 vaccines.
Goldman Sachs reportedly received 200 doses, and Citigroup received 1,200 doses.

“I’m six weeks away from delivering twins, and I couldn’t get the H1N1 vaccine from my obstetrician or the hospital where I plan to deliver,” said Regan. “Eventually, I did get the vaccine, but it was not through conventional means.”

On  Nov. 1, Army Maj. James Crabtree, a spokesman for the Guantanamo jail facility, said that doses of H1N1 vaccine should be arriving this month for guards first and then inmates.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that the group at highest risk for H1N1 flu is pregnant women. Some pregnant women have died in childbirth from H1N1. There is something askew with our priorities if stock brokers and terrorists get the H1N1 vaccine before a pregnant mother with twins.

President Obama declared H1N1 flu a “national emergency” on Oct. 24. Dr. Nancy Snyderman, chief medical editor for NBC News, said that we think of a “national emergency” like Hurricane Katrina. The sound of “national emergency” tends to make the outbreak sound more urgent than it is. She said that actually, the “national emergency” was declared so that emergency rooms all over the country could diagnose and treat H1N1 flu beyond the local hospital campuses.

There is so much confusion between seasonal flu and H1N1 flu. Seasonal flu symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat, headache, body aches, chills and fatigue. H1N1 flu has the same symptoms but are more severe.

Seasonal flu affects infants and children and people over 65. People between 20 and 60 years of age are the most affected group, with the highest risk being pregnant women.

The seasonal flu vaccine was available in early October, while H1N1 flu vaccine became available in early November. People over 65 may not need the H1N1 vaccine, but it’s available. They may need the seasonal flu vaccine, but it is less available.

Both seasonal flu and H1N1 flu vaccines seem to be coming in spurts, a little here and a lot there. The Wall Street Journal reported  Nov. 8, “The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged health officials around the country to ensure swine flu is getting to high risk groups, after criticism erupted over distribution to some Wall Street firms…but criticism of the move showed how much tension has emerged as thousands of children and others considered at high risk of complications have waited hours in line to be inoculated.”

“There will be more than enough doses of the H1N1 in the United States…there will be plenty of vaccine for everyone who wants it,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Sept. 24. We are now into November, scrambling for priority in vaccine distribution.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was on a trip to Europe and the Middle East when she spoke  Nov. 8, from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She was more concerned about the possible backlash against Muslims in the U.S. because of the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas than she was of the inequitable distribution of H1N1 flu vaccine, which she never even mentioned.

This is a good run through. So far, the H1N1 epidemic is not out of control, but the distribution of vaccine is close to being out of control with its unfair distribution.
It causes one to wonder how we would handle a “national disaster” if this is the way we handle a “national emergency.”

There are approximately 308 million people in the U.S. How we care for them and offer them help in a time of crisis is very important. Our mechanism for distributing help to 308 million people needs to be as well-oiled as it can be, and I don’t mean by fossil fuel.

Whether we are distributing medicine or food, we have to be more organized. We have to be more efficient. We saw glimpses of our modern organization in the last election with the utilization of the Internet.

We need to be as well-organized in our distribution as we are in our communication. At this time in our history, whether terrorists are imprisoned here or not, we have to be able to dispense goods and services equitably to all of our people in a short amount of time.

Madeline Wolff
Contributing reporter

At any given point in time, the world, and our country in particular, is in crisis mode. The particular crises vary significantly and are often elevated by the media and our own paranoia to the point of being ridiculous.

Medical outbreaks have been a serious contributor to this worldwide crisis mode for a very long time, including everything from SARS to Mad Cow Disease to the new and improved H1N1 virus — the outbreak of today.

Very few of these diseases-on-alert ever amplify to the point of epidemic, however, as have the likes of HIV/AIDs or the ever-infamous black plague. Is this because of — or in spite of — the seemingly ridiculous over-awareness initially brought on to “prevent” the new illness?

I hear more about the H1N1 virus than I do about HIV/AIDS on any given day. How fair is that, considering how devastating we all know HIV/AIDS to be? The most important question is really whether H1N1 deserves the hype it is receiving, or if it is simply glorified because it makes a good news story.

The statistics on H1N1 are very interesting when analyzed — emphasis on analyzed. Unfortunately, the World Health Organization stopped keeping track of H1N1 infections and deaths back in July as the number of cases rose too high. We do have estimates, but the most accurate information is from three months ago.

It can seem very staggering when you see that the U.S. has accounted for about half of the swine flu deaths worldwide as of mid-July, or 170 out of 382. In regards to overall cases, the U.S. accounted for about 33,000 out of nearly 90,000 in the world, with the next highest occurrence in Mexico at about 10,000 cases. However, overall populations and percentages must be taken into account. The U.S. has a population of 300 million people, while Mexico is home to 100 million. So, realistically, Mexico and the U.S. have had almost the same rate of H1N1 outbreak (as Mexico has one citizen for every three American citizens, and one outbreak of H1N1 for every three American cases).

Also, the regular flu must be taken into account. Every year in the U.S., there are more than 36,000 deaths as a direct result of influenza. This places it in the top 10 causes of death for our country. It is already deadly, so why are we so hyped up now that there is a “new” strain that has killed less than 0.3 percent of what the regular flu kills every year?

The answer is because it is not so new. There have been H1N1 outbreaks before. The most notable was in 1918, when the virus affected 500 million people — one-third of the world’s population at the time. It ended up killing between 10 and 20 percent of those infected.
Since its most recent revival, H1N1 has grown significantly, and it does not seem to be slowing down. Articles report more and more cases each day. The Centers of Disease Control estimates that there have now been over one million people infected in the U.S. alone. This number is 30 times what it was in July, our most accurate statistics.

H1N1, in its current form, seems to have killed about 0.5 percent of its infected population in the U.S. and 0.4 percent worldwide. The world has seen it affect a third of its population before. If that were to happen today, it would affect 2.2 billion people and from recent statistics, we can estimate it would therefore kill 8.8 million people worldwide. If it were to be so strong as to kill 10 to 20 percent of its infected population as it did in 1918, the number of casualties would rise to an insane 220-440 million.

This is, of course, an extreme and highly unlikely example. However, I have been swayed from my former skepticism. Perhaps with all the overexposure the virus is receiving, it can be prevented from affecting the world in such a devastating way.

As we have seen, even with all of the media coverage the virus has received, the number of H1N1 infections is growing. This can certainly be prevented, so let’s try and do so. It is the individual’s responsibility to prevent himself or herself from getting the virus, whether it is by getting flu shots, which comforts some, or by simply washing one’s hands with hot water.

H1N1 has disastrous potential, evidenced by past and present statistics. We need to use that knowledge as well as our current resources to prevent unnecessary deaths. Even besides that, no one I know wants to be laid up for weeks vomiting, coughing, sneezing, and with the chills.

I’m not recommending that anyone lock themselves in a sterile room and not leave. Attend school, attend work, and go about your business, but be aware that the virus is in circulation and you are vulnerable to it. Take your vitamin C before flying and avoid the sniffly passerby. After all, in the U.S., California ranks fifth in the number of H1N1 cases, and we are second in number of deaths only to New York.

For information on preventing H1N1, and the symptoms to watch out for, visit http://www.disabled-world.com/health/influenza/swine-flu/.

A vaccine for the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, will be available late October at the Klotz Health Center. Photo Credit: Katie Chavarin/ Staff Photographer

“‘Be prepared, not scared,’ is the motto of the CSUN Klotz Student Health Center,” Dr. Yolanda Chassiakos, director of the Health Center, said in response to a question about the H1N1 swine flu.

“We have a pandemic plan available consisting of three elements: prevention, safety through education and care,” she continued. “Every year viruses start in the Southern Hemisphere and then spread to the Northern Hemisphere. This year, it just happens to be seasonal flu (with) the addition of the H1N1 virus.”

Chassiakos said that most flu viruses affect children and the elderly. However, young adults seem just as susceptible to the H1N1 strain. Typical symptoms of the flu are fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.

The Health Center is offering a seasonal flu vaccine but it is unknown how many shots will be required.

“The regular seasonal flu serum will probably be available in early September and will require one shot,” Chassiakos said, “but the H1N1 will be available later in October and may require as many as two or three inoculations depending on the effectiveness of the vaccine.”

For some students, the prospect of an H1N1 resurgence is daunting, and the notion of taking the vaccine does not provide much comfort.

“I heard today in class about the H1N1 virus. It’s coming,” said senior English major Patricia Overly. “I don’t think California is ready for it. I would have to research the vaccine, if I were to take it.”

Until the vaccine is available, Chassiakos recommends common-sense methods of prevention such as covering one’s mouth with a tissue when one coughs or sneezes. She said alcohol-based hand cleansers are also effective.

Senior English literature major Candice Lehman isn’t too worried about the potential outbreak of H1N1.

“I don’t usually take vaccines. I’m not worried,” Lehman said. “The H1N1 is similar to the seasonal flu, but more severe.”

Sharon Aronoff, a health educator, noted that the Student Health Center is supported by student fees. Besides assistance with the H1N1 flu vaccines, the Center provides a wide range of health care services from optometry to chiropractics. These services are free of charge to all CSUN students.