Seniors Won't Get Swine Flu Vaccine

Health experts expect the swine flu virus (H1N1) to come back in the late Fall and Winter. To prepare for that, the United States is preparing to vaccinate around 160 million people. The vaccination will require two doses, and it will start around the middle of October.

If there is not enough of the vaccine to do the full 160 million people, then it will be pared back by risk groups. The first groups to be vaccinated will be health workers. That makes sense. We may need those health workers to take care of the rest of us.

Then comes people who work with babies, and children between six months and four years. They will be followed by young people with high-risk medical conditions, and finally other young people and young adults.

The pleasant surprise for me is that older people are not scheduled to receive the vaccination at all. Normally, us old codgers are one of the at-risk groups that must get a flu vaccination. The last couple of years, my doctor hasn't even asked. She just stuck the needle in my arm.

Why is this year different? Well, it seems that us oldies have more immunity to this virus than younger people do. That's because we were alive in 1957 and exposed to the virus that year. That exposure gives us a pretty good immunity to this year's swine flu virus.

There aren't too many advantages to being old, but I guess this is one.

We're Not Out Of The Woods Yet

Last week, I wrote a post about the H1N1 virus (swine flu) and how scientists have discovered that it has some genetic differences from the first time the H1N1 virus spread in 1918. That time it was known as the Spanish Flu, and it wound up killing more people than World War I did (combatants and civilians combined).

The scientists said the genetic difference meant that the current strain of H1N1 was probably no more deadly than a regular yearly flu outbreak, which kills around 36,000 in a normal year. It looks like the scientists were right. The swine flu has turned out to not be the pandemic killer that health officials had feared, and in fact, they seem to be getting a hold on this outbreak.

Now you might think I would be pretty pleased with myself for posting that while others were still beating the pandemic drum. I'm not. That's because I know a little bit about the Spanish Flu (my own grandfather died from it in 1919). Yes, I said 1919.

The outbreak in the Spring of 1918 was not the huge killer. It came back in a second and third wave in the Fall of 1918 and Winter of 1919. It was these second and third waves that turned out to be the nasty killers. The second and third waves were far more virulent than the first.

If you'll forgive me for using a euphemism, we're not out of the woods yet. The normal time for the flu season is Fall and Winter, and it's entirely possible that the H1N1 virus may pay us a second and possibly even a third visit at that time.

Any scientist will tell you that a virus can evolve (or mutate) very fast. What if it has mutated into a much more deadly form when it returns? We could still have a repeat of the pandemic known as Spanish Flu.

I'm not trying to be an alarmist, just a realist. It may not come back. If it does, it may still be fairly benign. But it could also be very nasty and create a real mess. The point is, we must remain vigilant. We can't be caught napping if it returns in a few months.

Could You Be Immune To Swine Flu ?

In 1918, the Spanish flu raged around the world, killing many millions of people. That pandemic was caused by a strain of the flu virus called H1N1. A few days ago, the H1N1 virus popped up again. This time it was called Swine flu. Although it was believed to have started in Mexico (that's where the largest number of patients and deaths are so far), it spread quickly and in just a few days has shown up in several countries on several continents.

When the deaths began to pile up, and most of those affected were young healthy people, just like the Spanish flu, it is easy to see how the World Health Organization (WHO) was afraid they might be looking at another deadly flu pandemic -- just like the one 91 years ago.

The WHO, the USCDC (Center for Disease Control) and state health departments have quickly taken action to try and head off the feared new pandemic. People with any flu symptoms are urged not to go to work or school. Drugstores are selling out of face masks. Events have been cancelled and schools have been closed. News of the new flu have been covered extensively by all types of media.

These may be reasonable actions or may be overreactions. No one knows yet. But scientists who have been studying the new H1N1 virus think the new flu may be more benign than was previously believed. They have found some small differences between the current version of H1N1 and the 1918 H1N1.

One of these differences is the absence of an amino acid in the current version. This amino acid helped the 1918 virus to replicate itself very rapidly once it entered the lungs. This made the virus extremely deadly. The absence of this amino acid could be why the current version of H1N1 is not as virulent.

This does not mean the virus is not dangerous. It obviously has killed. But it may turn out to be no more deadly than more common strains of flu (which can kill 30,000 to 40,000 people each year in the United States). That is a tragic figure, but nowhere near the death toll racked up by the 1918 Spanish flu.

Another oddity of this new Swine flu is that it is not striking the elderly. Normally, the elderly and children are the groups most likely to die from the flu. Why is this virus different?

The scientists think they may know. There was a flu pandemic in 1957 that killed around 2 million people. It is believed that those who were exposed to the 1957 flu may have an immunity to the current H1N1 virus. That would basically cover those in their mid-fifties and older.

Other than gaining a bit of wisdom, there aren't a lot of advantages to growing old. But it looks like this could be one of those few advantages.

How About Calling It "Israeli Flu" ?

After all the discrimination suffered by the Jewish people through centuries of world history, I would have thought Israelis would be more sensitive to the feelings of another culture. I would have thought they would think twice before stigmatizing the residents of another country -- especially a country that never did them any harm. But maybe I was wrong. Consider the following story from the Associated Press:

"The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed "Mexican" influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, said an Israeli health official Monday.

Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman said the reference to pigs is offensive to both religions and "we should call this Mexican flu and not swine flu," he told a news conference at a hospital in central Israel.

Both Judaism and Islam consider pigs unclean and forbid the eating of pork products.

Scientists are unsure where the new swine flu virus originally emerged, though it was identifed first in the United States. They say there is nothing about the virus that makes it 'Mexican' and worry such a label would be stigmatizing."

That is an incredibly stupid statement by a supposedly educated government official. Is he really saying the simple use of the word "swine" offends all Jews and Muslims? And when did he start caring what offends Muslims?

No one is asking anyone to eat pork. The word "swine" is used only to signify the origin of this particular strain of the flu virus. Is he also offended by the terms "pig latin", "pork barrel spending" or "piggyback rides"? Would he run screaming into the night at the sight of a Piggly-Wiggly grocery store?

I have an idea. If Litzman and other Israelis are offended by the words "swine flu", why don't we call it "Israeli flu", or even better, why not "Litzman flu"? After all, we wouldn't want such a sensitive person to be offended!

Frankly, I'm offended by his suggestion.

Flu Pandemic Coming ?

This is not good news, especially for those of us here in Texas and the other border states. A particularly nasty strain of swine flu (actually a mixture of swine, human and avian flu viruses) designated H1N1 has struck Mexico. At least 1000 people have become ill, and 60 have died from the new flu strain.

Most flu strains are most dangerous to the elderly and to children, but this strain is different. It seems to be targeting young adults (like the 1918 Spanish flu which also targeted young adults and wound up killing millions worldwide).

The Mexican officials are taking the outbreak very seriously. According to the BBC,

"Schools, museums and libraries have been closed across the capital region and people are being urged to avoid shaking hands or sharing crockery.

All public events have been suspended, an official said. Two previously sold-out soccer matches were played in empty stadiums to avoid potentially spreading the virus.

The Roman Catholic Church in Mexico has recommended measures to avoid further contagion at Mass this Sunday.

Priests have been told to place communion wafers in the hands of worshippers rather than in their mouths and to suggest to the congregation that kissing or shaking hands be avoided during the service."

The new flu strain has already jumped the border. Two cases have been discovered in Texas and six in California. The World Health Organization says it doesn't know the full risk of the new flu strain, but says it has the potential to become a worldwide pandemic.

Anne Schuchat of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, "With infections in many different communities as we're seeing, we don't think that containment is feasible. We are not at a point where we can keep this virus in one place... Now that we are looking more widely, I really expect us to find more."

Normally we consider the flu season to be in the Fall and early Winter, but this new swine flu doesn't seem to care about the rules. We'd better keep our eye on this one.