Published: October 20, 2009 07:10 am      

Editorial: Answers on swine flu

The swine flu is here, and lots of people are expected to get sick. But the sky is not falling. There will be plenty of vaccine for everyone, officials say. Some people -- swine flu seems to be hitting the young (6 months to 24 years) the hardest -- will get sick enough to be hospitalized. A very, very few -- about 1,000 out of 1 million so far -- will die.

But for the most part, the swine flu is pretty much like the normal winter flu.

The following are some common questions and the best answers we can find. They come from Fred Keeslar, director of the Grand Traverse County Health Department; Associated Press medical columnist Lauran Neergaard; and WebMD, an independent Web site that offers health news for the public and medical reference databases.

-- I thought flu was most dangerous to people 65 and older.

Regular winter flu is most dangerous to older adults, but the new H1N1 is predominantly striking the young. (Neergaard)

-- Who is first in line for the swine flu vaccine?

Pregnant women; the young, ages 6 months through 24 years; people younger than 64 who have conditions such as asthma or diabetes that increase the risk of complications from flu; and health workers and caregivers of newborns. (Neergaard)

-- Are vaccines dangerous?

In recent years, there's been growing mistrust of vaccines; some believe that there could be a link between vaccines, especially the ingredient thimerosal, and autism. There is no evidence vaccines cause autism. There are thimerosal-free flu vaccines available. Just ask your doctor. (WebMD)

-- Can the flu vaccine give you the flu?

This is the flu myth most likely to drive experts bonkers. Injected flu vaccines only contain dead virus, and a dead virus is, well, dead; live virus flu vaccine, the nasal vaccine, is engineered to remove the parts of the virus that make people sick. (WebMD)

-- Seasonal flu is annoying but harmless.

It's important to remember that the run-of-the-mill seasonal flu can be a serious condition itself. The seasonal flu hospitalizes 200,000 people in the U.S. each year and kills about 36,000. (WebMD)

-- How many shots, or squirts, will I need?

Most people will need one dose each of the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine and the regular winter flu vaccine. But health authorities believe children under 10 will need two doses of the H1N1 vaccine, about three weeks apart. (Neergaard)

-- There is no treatment for the flu.

If you can get to the doctor quickly -- within 48 hours of having symptoms -- there are antiviral medications, Tamiflu and Relenza, that can help. They won't cure the flu. But they can reduce the amount of time you're sick by one or two days and make you less contagious to others. Antibiotics only fight bacterial infections. Flu -- seasonal flu or swine flu -- is not caused by bacteria, but by a virus. (WebMD)

-- Are local vaccination programs planned?

Local schools plan to offer inoculation clinics when a vaccine becomes available this fall. The free, optional clinics are intended to reach children. Tentative days are set for October and November for county and Traverse City-area public and private schools. (Keeslar)

-- Good hygiene helps.

School administrators said they are working to promote good hygiene in students. Students in Benzie Central Schools have new soap and paper-towel dispensers; hand sanitizers were installed throughout the Traverse City district.

-- Is "stomach flu" a form of influenza?

The word "flu" is overused. Gastrointestinal viruses called the "stomach flu" have no connection to the actual influenza virus. If you suffer vomiting and diarrhea, but no fever or body ache, you probably do not have the flu. In children, the influenza virus can sometimes cause vomiting and diarrhea. (WebMD)

-- You can't get the flu twice in a flu season.

That's not the case because the flu isn't a single virus. (WebMD)

-- You can skip years between flu vaccinations.

We need a new seasonal flu vaccine every year. The particular strains of flu that are dominant change every single year. So every single year, researchers have to develop a brand new vaccine. (WebMD)