At a press conference held yesterday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a representative from MTV, the message couldn’t have been clearer: young people are the most at-risk group for the H1N1 virus and the least informed about it.
Jason Rzepka, vice president for MTV Public Affairs, started the conference by describing his company’s efforts to get the word out about H1N1, specifically through announcements both on-air and online and a partnership with HHS and the CDC.
HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius began her talk by calling H1N1 a “young person’s flu” and the first flu pandemic in 40 years. She emphasized that flu season is not over: people under age 24 are still considered to be at high risk, and people ages 18 through 24 are six times more likely than other age groups to be hospitalized for H1N1. Sebelius said that H1N1 is expected to re-emerge in February and March, when seasonal flu is at its peak. Nine states are already reporting seasonal flu activity, she said.
The vaccine for H1N1 is safe and in plentiful supply, Sebelius said, with a surveillance system in place to ensure that the vaccine stays safe. There are two vaccines – a shot and a nasal spray – and a new Web site, flu.gov, has been launched to track availability of the vaccine.
“Now is a great time to get vaccinated… we want to encourage folks to take advantage of it,” Sebelius said. According to Sebelius the vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and those around you from catching the disease. Even getting a minor case, she said, can cause other people to become seriously ill.
Sebelius introduced Luke Duvall, a 15-year-old H1N1 survivor from Atkins, Ark., who appeared on “60 Minutes” last year. Duvall, a football player, called himself “a healthy, active 15-year-old kid who never got sick.” After catching H1N1 in October, Duvall was hospitalized and placed in a medically-induced coma for two weeks. He was placed on a respirator so his lungs could heal. Duvall said he spent another week in a rehabilitation facility, where he had to learn to walk, eat and drink again.
“I wound up losing 25 percent of my body weight,” Duvall said. “I was devastated at what I saw in the mirror. I thought there was something wrong with the mirror. I’d lost so much weight and muscle mass.” Duvall encouraged students to get the vaccination, “You could affect people’s lives by getting the vaccine and not even know it,” he said. Duvall is continuing to recover, and has still not regained full function of his lungs.
Stephen Redd, the director of the Influenza Coordination Unit at the CDC, said although there are fewer cases of H1N1 than there were last year, the illness is still around. Redd said there were more than 100 flu cases across the country this week, and that college students remain the most vulnerable.
CDC conference stresses importance of H1N1 vaccine
Published: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Updated: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 22:01
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