Results tagged “swineflu”

Three Queens students were brought to the hospital yesterday after complaining of sickness right after they received the H1N1 vaccine. Within twenty minutes of getting vaccinated, one student of PS 124 in South Ozone Park "complained of a headache" says NY1, and overall 16 students said they felt ill. However, of the three girls brought to the hospital, one wasn't even given the vaccine in the first place! Maybe the dog ate her homework?

Chris Douglas-Roberts, the second year Nets guard, has swine flu, the team confirmed yesterday. Coach Lawrence Frank spoke to Douglas-Roberts, "e doesn't sound very good...All the measures are taken, now it's a matter of when he feels better." Players are being given Tamiflu as a precaution—forward Bobby Simmons said, "I went to the grocery store this morning, and a lot of people were coughing in there, too. It’s something in the air that’s going on right now. It just shows that it’s very serious, and we can’t take it for granted."

After news that Goldman Sachs (and Citigroup) received 200 swine flu vaccines out of 5,400 requested, which is the same amount as Memorial Sloan-Kettering received for its 27,000+ request for its workers, Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update decided to tap into the populist outrage.

While some think that focusing on how Citigroup and Goldman Sachs received swine flu vaccines is distracting, this is kind of annoying. The NY Times reports, "Citigroup has received 1,200 doses, more than half of what it requested, health officials said, and in late October, Goldman received 200 of the 5,400 doses it asked for. By contrast, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center received 200 of the 27,400 doses that it requested for its workers, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene." City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said, "My understanding is that Citi had multiple clinics and facilities, and they placed several orders. The person filling these might not have realized it was one company."

Main St. v. Wall St.! Some New Yorkers are up in arms upon finding out that Citigroup and Goldman Sachs have received numerous doses of the much-coveted H1N1 vaccine. The two banks each received a several hundred doses for at-risk employees (pregnant women, etc...), but the city's Health Department has had to explain themselves to citizens who believe companies shouldn't get preferential treatment over people waiting in line for the vaccine. "Wall Street banks have already taken so much from us," union official John VanDeventer wrote on the Service Employees International Union website, "But they should not be allowed to take away our health and well-being."

After giving the impression that Snap, Crackle & Pop could save your kids from swine flu, Kellogg is reportedly "discontinuing the packaging of its Cocoa Krispies cereals that claim to boost children’s immunity." NYU's Professor Nestle said that the company had no choice, “They had to. [It's] too embarrassing and [it faced] too much risk of setting off the FDA." Which leaves onions to capitalize off the H1N1 epidemic.

Since you probably can't Snap, Crackle & Pop yourself away from Swine Flu, what can you do armed with only a complete lack of scientific proof and the goods in your cupboard? The Wall Street Journal revisits some old wives tales.

In stark contrast to many city parent outcries, parents of some pre-kindergarten tykes are upset that their kids won't receive the H1N1 vaccine. Because their programs are not located in public schools but in day care centers, churches, community centers, etc. because the schools are too crowded, over 33,000 children ages 6 months to 4 years — the highest risk age for infection — will not have the option to get the vaccine in school. (Pre-K kids in city schools will.) One parent told the Daily News, "It's unfair. My pediatrician doesn't have the vaccine yet, so I think we should be given the option." Though a News commenter may have put it better: "Look what happens when the government runs (RATIONS) healthcare!!! NO PUBLIC OPTION!!!"

It was only a matter of time before the Swine Flu hysteria escalated to the next level and what better place for it to heat up than New York City on the D train. The Business Insider's Lawrence Delevingne caught a glimpse and an earful of the first reported swine flu-induced subway altercation this morning while nearing the 42nd St Street- Bryant Park stop.

This is such great news: the Kellogg company says that Cocoa Krispies builds your immunity! Who needs a flu shot when you can just eat Rice Krispies Treats? And not only can the sugary cereal save your life, but this news could also help bring back the school bake sale.

Now it turns out that one of the public school students given the swine flu vaccine without parental consent had to go to the emergency room after getting sick. Six-year-old Nikiyah Torres, who suffers from epilepsy (her parents had been waiting to see what their family doctor said about the swine flu vaccine) told WCBS 2, "He just gave me the needle, without asking me what is my name."

So much for those parental consent forms! Two public school students, one in Brooklyn and one in Staten Island, were given the swine flu vaccine without signed consent forms. The NYC Health Department told the NY Times, "We are working to determine how this occurred, and to implement additional safeguards."

Governor Paterson has declared a state of emergency over swine flu. The AP reports, "The executive order means that far more health care professionals -- including dentists -- will be permitted to administer vaccines with only brief training. The order is needed to suspend provisions of state law.State officials say the number of vaccine doses is also being increased. The federal government is ramping up availability of the vaccine, allowing the state to order twice as many doses as a week ago, a trend that's expected to continue." President Obama declared swine flu a "national emergency" a few days ago.

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.

The NYC Health department is starting its swine flu vaccine program at 128 elementary schools today. According to WCBS 2, 40,000 doses were set aside for the students: "School nurses at those sites will administer the nasal spray vaccine starting Wednesday to students whose parents have signed consent forms. Nurses expect to vaccinate 15 to 25 kids per day, per school."

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius hit the airwaves this morning, trying to reassure Americans about the swine flu vaccine. Noting that many people have been frustrated by the shortage, she said supply "is coming out the door as fast as it comes off the production line. We were relying on the manufacturers to give us their numbers and as soon as we got numbers we put them out to the public. It does appear now that those numbers were overly rosy."

President Obama officially declared swine flu a national emergency. He signed a proclamation which, according to a White House announcement, "enhances the ability of our nation's medical treatment facilities to handle a surge in H1N1 patients by allowing, as needed, the waiver of certain standard federal requirements on a case-by-case basis."

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.

The Department of Education sent public school children home with letters asking parents for consent to give the students the H1N1 vaccine. While the CDC confirmed that 11 children died of swine flu last week, it remains to be seen whether parents will opt for the vaccine. One told WCBS 2, "I've decided not to give my kids the vaccine because it's just too new I just feel it's not a lot of research, so I don't know what the side effects are."

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control confirmed that 11 children died from the swine flu over the past week. This comes as manufacturing delays have resulted in less than 30 million swine flu vaccines being distributed by the end of this month—it was hoped that 40 million would be available. Now, the Post reports that the city is considering a way to make house calls for possible swine flu cases.

A State Supreme Court judge has, at least temporarily, blocked the mandatory flu shots the state was requiring for health care workers. A nurse had sued, saying the State Health Department's requirement for swine and seasonal flu shots was "arbitrary and capricious."

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.

New York City might be immune from the swine flu, but unfortunately that doesn't hold true for the rest of the state. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY have had 21 cases of the virus, and suspect that the culprit may be sharing cups during games like beer pong. So remember kids, stay healthy: play flip cup.

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).

The swine flu vaccine has finally arrived in New York, and not a moment too soon, as it has finally afflicted one of our own: Lindsay Robertson at Daily Intel has been stricken with swine flu for the past week—or so she thinks...

Throw out those tired old surgical masks, because the swine flu vaccine has come to cure us all! The first batches arrived in the city today as nasal sprays and are being given to children and medical workers at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. About 560 of the 68,000 doses were administered today, and the injectable version is due to arrive in the city next week.

With various federal, state and local officials worried about the spread of swine and seasonal flu, six NYC public schools are participating in a pilot program offering the seasonal flu vaccines to students this week. One mother, though, was wary, telling WCBS 2, "As of right now, I haven't given my parental consent. I don't know what batch it is. I don't know the criteria for it." For now, she's reminded her kids to wash their hands often.

Swine flu has spread nationwide, and cases are rapidly rising in many parts of the country, according to an announcement yesterday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is significant flu activity in virtually all states," says Dr. Anne Schuch at the CDC. "It's quite unusual for this time of year." It was also announced yesterday that a 23-year-old recruit in basic training in Fort Jackson, S.C., has become the Army’s first swine flu death. Specialist Christopher M. Hog died of pneumonia on September 10th, and swine flu was found on autopsy.

He's been on TV this morning supporting his health plan. But seriously— I think we can all agree that it's in our best interest if the president is allowed to skip to the front of the swine-flu vaccine line. We must protect Obama from the pigs!

CBS Early Show host Harry Smith wasn't at work this morning—because he suspects he may have the H1N1 virus! While he's doing the right thing by not going into work and infecting coworkers and other people he might be commuting with, we are curious about Smith's self-diagnosis. From 1010WINS: "In an interview live from his New York City apartment Monday, Smith told CBS viewers he started feeling achy and feverish over the weekend after a 25-mile bike ride in the rain and dancing all night at a birthday party." Let's see, a 58-year-old man who biked 25 miles in the rain AND danced all night... yes, swine flu it is. Other symptoms include "Trouble breathing or shortness of breath," "Pain or pressure in the chest or stomach," "Sudden dizziness," "Confusion," and "Severe vomiting that won’t stop." And recently Rachel Maddow battled swine flu.