swine flu vaccines

Despite the relative newness of the H1N1 flu vaccine, experts from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control say pregnant women can and should be at the front of the line to receive their shots.

The reason?  Pregnant women's immune systems and lung capacity are diminished by bearing another life within them, making them more susceptible to be hospitalized, miscarry or die due to contracting the flu.

So whether it is the H1N1 vaccine or Tamiflu (also used to treat garden variety influenza), the Los Angeles Times' Shari Roan reports that CDC scientists and doctors' associations recommend treatment of flu-like symptoms in pregnant women should begin even before it is confirmed they have the flu.

Understandably, pregnant women are reluctant to put drugs into their bodies that they fear could affect their babies, and subsequently they vaccinate themselves less than the general population.   But the known risks -- of death, pneumonia, hospitalization and miscarriage -- outweigh the unknown, doctors say.

Until this year, Tamiflu was not recommended for pregnant women because of the uncertainty about damaging the fetus.  That lack of data remains today, though recent Canadian studies did not find that Tamiflu caused a higher rate of birth defects than what is considered normal.

The CDC posts regular updates about how the H1N1 flu is rapidly spreading through the county, and who it is affecting most: 95 children have died so far.

 A report that the Washington State Hospital Association is pushing for mandatory flu vaccination of health care workers takes on new urgency in the face of a study that warns 15 states -- including Washington, California, Oregon and Arizona --  could run out of hospital beds around the time the swine flu outbreak peaks.

The number of people hospitalized at the peak of the swine flu outbreak could hit 168,000 California and 30,500 in Washington, according to the report from the nonprofit Trust for America's Health. The public health advocacy group used government flu computer models to estimate how quickly hospitals might fill up during a mild pandemic like swine flu is predicted to be, the Associated Press reports.

Even though only a fraction would be sick enough to be hospitalized, health officials are bracing: When H1N1 first appeared in the spring, more than 44,000 people visited emergency rooms in hard-hit New York City, the report noted. Just sorting out which patients are sick enough to be admitted from the vast majority who need to go home is a big job. And hospital capacity varies widely.

By the outbreak's peak, the new report suggests Delaware and Connecticut hospitals would fill up soonest. Also on that list: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. 

The Washington State Hospital Association wants to make flu shots a job requirement for health care workers, and is pushing the state to make that happen.