Officials have confirmed that human error was to blame for a mis-dispatched ambulance whose would-be passenger died while waiting for its arrival Thursday. At 9:04 a.m. Mariela Lazaro called 911 and said her son’s nose was bleeding, but she was too upset to give her exact cross streets. While searching for the address in the database a 911 worker hit the wrong key and located Avenue C in Brooklyn, though Lazaro was actually calling from Avenue C in Manhattan’s Stuyvesant Town. An emergency crew rushed to the outer boroughs address, but quickly realized something was wrong. Less than twenty minutes after the original call another crew found its way to the correct home, but by then it was too late, the boy was dead. more ›

Yesterday morning 32-year-old actress Brittany Murphy died after collapsing in the bathroom and suffering cardiac arrest in Los Angeles. The coroner official now says it "appears to be natural," and TMZ reports an autopsy will take place either today or tomorrow, despite her British screenwriter husband, Simon Monjack, objecting to one. more ›

Yesterday, the city's program to give NYC school students swine flu vaccines began at 125 elementary schools. A 9-year-old at PS 157 in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn who received an injection told the Daily News, "My mom told me that the flu would hurt more than the shot...It felt a little bit sharp, and it kind of hurted." Aww. more ›

The New York State Department of Health is getting a taste of its own ultimatum medicine. With only 23% of the swine flu doses originally expected to arrive by the end of October reaching New York, the State Health Department has to choose: Uphold a regulation that all healthcare workers receive the shot (which was temporarily blocked by a State Supreme Court judge last week) or make sure those most at risk receive the shot. more ›

While hypochondriacs are worried about shortages of the H1N1 flu vaccine, Poughkeepsie nurse Suzanne Field is turning her nose up at a chance to score the injection. Not only is she opting out of a free vaccination for health care workers—mandated in September by the New York state health commissioner—she's also intent in making sure no other healthcare worker is subject to the needle. Her lawsuit to overturn the regulation is being heard today at the State Supreme Court in Manhattan. more ›

Drama! Even though the city is urging parents to get their children vaccinated against H1N1, a national survey found out that only 34% would give their children the shot, the rest preferring their children become infected with delicious, porcine goodness. "It’s just too new on the market, and we don’t know what side effects it may have on children," one parent told the Daily News. These concerns still come after Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius insisted that the H1N1 vaccine is perfectly safe, and that the "adverse effects are minimal compared to what can happen when you get the flu" (seriously—swine flu seems TERRIBLE). more ›

The New York State Health Department is now requiring mandatory seasonal and swine flu vaccinations for all hospital, home health and hospice workers. No other state or city agency in America has such a requirement, and a coalition of local health care workers unions are considering filing a lawsuit to block it. Less than half of all health care workers across America get an annual flu shot, and Dr. Julie Gerberding, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, thinks the New York requirement is "a big deal." She tells the Times it's time for "a more aggressive approach," not just for the protection of workers, but also for patients with weak immune systems. more ›

If swine flu makes a comeback this fall, city officials want to be prepared. They've been conducting a postmortem review of the spring's swine flu outbreak as they come up with plans for a possible "second wave," plans which the NY Times reports are focusing on preventing city ERs from being swamped. City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley says the spring outbreak caught hospitals off-guard: "The thought that there would be large numbers of people in emergency rooms hadn’t been well thought through, so that’s one thing we need to address." So, in order to stop everyone with a stuffy nose from heading to the nearest ER, officials are considering a daily "public messaging system" that would give updates on vital swine flu information, not unlike the way winning lottery numbers are announced. Other swine flu countermeasures—like closing schools or even mandating staggered work hours—are also being readied in the event the virus comes back with a vengeance. At this point, Dr. Farley says it's basically a waiting game: "If you look at the history of new strains of influenza...almost all of them have had a second wave. It doesn’t necessarily occur within the next six months; it might occur a couple of years later. But almost all returned." more ›

Swine flu relief might be coming soon in the form of a shot. NY1 says that White House officials are laying plans for distribution of an H1N1 vaccine by as early as October, with priority going to at-risk groups like pregnant women. That, of course, assumes no hitches in vaccine production or testing, which Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius confirms will soon be underway: "We're moving towards the likelihood of a specific vaccine for H1N1...What we need to do is make sure we have a safe vaccine." That likelihood is particularly welcome news following today's Health Department announcement of nine more New York City deaths linked to the H1N1 virus. But, as Newsday reports, the city's new swine flu death toll of 47 could get much worse if the virus mutates in time for the fall flu season, a possibility that Mayor Bloomberg says alarms him: "We're certainly worried about what happens in the fall and we're making sure that we have, to the extent we can, facilities to treat people." The latest H1N1 victims were not identified by the Health Department, but they range in ages from 25 to 65. more ›

Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short. more ›

This afternoon, city officials announced that many more school children may have the swine flu, which has been confirmed in 45 NYC residents (stats from CDC) so far. Beyond St. Francis Prep in Queens where the first cases were reported, Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden said that "hundreds of students were ill with symptoms which most likely were swine flu." Children at P.S. 177, a school for autistic children, were being tested (and the school is closed) as were ones at a Catholic school Ascension. From CityRoom:

P.S. 177 is at 56-37 188th Street in Fresh Meadows, in eastern Queens; Ascension is at 220 West 108th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. Several St. Francis students had siblings at P.S. 177, but it was not immediately clear how or whether the Manhattan school was linked to the St. Francis flu outbreak.

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene says, according to its data, that the flu has arrived in the Big Apple—and urges New Yorkers to get the flu vaccine. Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden said, “The best way to protect yourself or your loved ones from getting very ill is to get vaccinated. Young children and older adults are at higher risk of hospitalization and death if they get sick. So don’t take the risk - get the vaccine today.” Influenza—which is not just a bad cold— symptoms "include a fever, dry cough and body aches - not a stomach ache or vomiting." Frieden adds, "If you do get influenza, cover your cough and stay home to minimize the spread of disease to others." There's apparently plenty of flu vaccine left; here's info on where you can get a flu shot (uninsured people get them for free). And for those who love stats, here's the CDC's flu surveillance page. more ›

It's Flu Season! Last week, Mayor Bloomberg got his flu shot and the Health Department recommends that "everyone who wants to reduce the risk of influenza should get vaccinated this year." Flu season can extend into May, more ›

Well, this explains a lot: The Center for Disease Control and Protection says this year's flu shot is only good for 40% of the flu bugs going around. Thanks a lot, new strains of flu viruses that are kicking people's butts! more ›

The Health Department revealed that cases of the flu have increased 19% since November. Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden said urged New Yorkers who haven't gotten a flu shot yet to do so. more ›

Rudolph Giuliani's apparent health scare that caused his campaign jet to turn around and land back in St. Louis, Missouri was allegedly not as serious as it was made out to be. The Presidential candidate and former Mayor of New York is begging ignorance as to why his staff members said he had flu-like symptoms, when he says he just had a bad headache. Someone told the press that Giuliani blacked out at some point, which he denies ever happened.

“You’re going to have to ask them,” he said, when asked about their statement. “I’m telling you what actually happened. I had a very, very bad headache. It got worse on the plane. I then got checked out. Went through a lot of tests. All the tests came back 100 percent normal. That’s the bottom line.”

Former mayor Rudy Giuliani was hospitalized for flu-like symptoms at a St. Louis hospital last night. But it turns out he doesn't have the flu. more ›