Just what I needed to read this morning, what with my 10 year-old lifelong (so far) asthmatic daughter – according to the Los Angeles Times’ reporting on swine flu deaths in U.S. children:
In a normal flu season, at least half of the deaths among children occur in those younger than 5. With swine flu, more than 80% of the fatalities occurred in children ages 5 to 18.
And also:
Of the 36 children who died, 24 had high-risk medical conditions such as cerebral palsy or long-standing respiratory or cardiac conditions. [emphasis mine]
On the other hand, the possibility of a one-shot H1N1 vaccine looks good, and you can bet I’ll be pushing AG to the head of the line no matter how many shots the vaccine takes, considering the above news.
Finally, here’s something a little more lighthearted to take you into the weekend. This is Dr. John D. Clarke, one of the finalists in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ YouTube flu video contest. He’s rapping about H1N1:
Although this chainsaw one is pretty awesome, too:
You can can view and vote on all the finalists’ videos here.
More disturbing info as H1N1 evolves:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32863511/ns/health-swine_flu