CNN reported that the CDC’s research of the number of states with widespread flu activity dropped from 46 to 43 within one week, though the number of individuals displaying flu-like symptoms around this time of year is much higher than in past years, according to the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat, which was reported in the same CNN.com article. 

A New York Times article also confirmed that swine flu cases may have “peaked,” but federal health officials have refused to define this gradual decline as a peak, fearing that “Americans will become complacent and lose interest in being vaccinated, increasing the chances of another wave,” the article said. In regards to the swine flu epidemic being curtailed by the H1N1 vaccine, the same article argues that the vaccine may not have had any effect on the new drop in cases at all, citing the fact that the push for the H1N1 doses has been slow-moving – the “seed strain grew so slowly,” the article mentioned.

As swine flu rates drop across the nation, colleges and universities are following suit. According to the American College Health Association, “All but seven states report significant declines in disease activity from November 14th through November 20th. No deaths were reported during the last week.”

“[These clinics] are going to be day-long events. Anyone can just walk in; there’s no appointment necessary,” said University Health Services (UHS) Communication and Marketing Manager Karen Dunbar Scully, regarding the ongoing clinics Maxim Health Systems host throughout the semester. “[The clinics] are actually being run by an outside agency that works with UHS, so we’re not physically administering the vaccine. Maxim Health Systems is coming in and doing this as a public service here on campus.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website, the seasonal flu vaccine is appropriate for individuals who want to decrease their chances of contracting the illness. Certain high-risk groups, like health care workers, pregnant women and children ages six months to 19 years, should be vaccinated each year. While the CDC recommends high-risk individuals also be given the H1N1 vaccine, which began being distributed to medical providers in early October, Dunbar Scully stressed that Maxim Health Systems’ clinic will only be administering seasonal flu vaccines.

“This is purely a seasonal [flu] clinic, but we are doing an H1N1 clinic for high-risk individuals at the Mullins Center,” Dunbar Scully said. The H1N1 clinic at the Mullins Center will take place on Friday, Nov. 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. According to an e-mail sent out by UHS, the University received a limited supply of the H1N1 vaccine, and will only be administering it to CDC-classified “target” and high-risk groups.

UHS conducts their own seasonal flu clinics every Thursday from 1-4 p.m. However, Dunbar Scully notes that Maxim Health System’s walk-in clinics are convenient for those looking to receive a flu shot without scheduling an appointment.

“The clinics are really aimed at people that don’t receive all their primary care at UHS. Some faculty and staff have their medical care outside campus. The general public, somebody who’s just visiting campus or someone here for a conference can just stop in if they want to get vaccinated,” Dunbar Scully said. “The cost of the vaccination is $30, but some insurance providers will cover it. [Students] can check the UHS website to see if their provider is listed.”

“ ‘Two of the three members of the family that owns the pet had suffered from influenza-like illness before the cat became ill. This is not completely unexpected, as other strains of influenza have been found in cats in the past, ‘ ” IDPH Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Ann Garvey said in an IDPH report.

According to a Boston Globe report on swine flu in animals, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) veterinarian Jean Duddy explained that swine flu symptoms in pets are similar to those in humans, and can include ” ‘loss of appetite, dehydration, fever, coughing and sneezing.’ “

Veterinarians are now encouraging those experiencing flu-like symptoms to not only avoid close contact with humans, but to refrain from interactions with their pets as well. All the same rules hold true for humans and pets – wash your hands, avoid contact and cover your cough/sneeze. 

Though there have only been a few confirmations of the H1N1 virus in pets, including two ferrets from Oregon and Nebraska, respectively, reports make it clear that protecting your furry friends from the virus is critical in ensuring their health.

Reporters Susan Saulny, Katie Zezima and Emma Graves Fitzgerald call the “new standards of etiquette … mundane, absurd and heartbreaking,” citing examples of some hospitals who are barring child visitors for fear that they’ll spread the virus, and Florida-area churches who are emptying holy water fonts and halting “ ‘large group baptisms, weddings [and] funerals’ ” for the time being.

The old adage, “better safe than sorry” is entirely appropriate when referring to this situation – trust me, I carry around just as much Purell as the next hypochondriac. But are groups going a little overboard with all the precautions? Our actions against the flu, combined with the information UHS is drilling into our heads, is turning anyone with the slightest sniffle into a total social pariah. UMass professors are generally being far more lenient with class attendance, some even adding their “swine flu policies” to syllabi, and giving a couple get-out-of-jail-free cards to students who feel ill. Sure, no one wants to get sick. But I can totally give you a few names of students who are completely using this situation to their advantage – just sayin’.

The video component was especially effective because it extracts basic information from the article and allows an authority on the swine flu issue (Dr. Jennifer Ashton) to explain what the virus actually is.

According to a Sept. 25 New York Times article by Donald G. McNeil, Jr., “the first doses should reach doctors by Oct. 6,” mostly in the FluMist nasal spray form. Ann Becker, UMass’ public health nurse, claims that the mist is an effective way to administer the H1N1 vaccine to generally healthy young students, but more aggressive actions (like the H1N1 shot) need to be taken for those who may have compromised immune systems. The Times article does mention that “by mid-October, 40 million doses of both the nasal spray and injectible versions should be out,” so those who need to take more advanced steps to guard themselves against the swine flu will have more access to the shot form then. 

While we don’t have the H1N1 vaccine available yet, the University has taken steps to curb the spread of the seasonal flu, which, according to a report put out by the American College Health Association, is expected to “co-curriculate” with the H1N1 virus. On Oct. 1, Maxim Health Systems offered a walk-in seasonal flu shot clinic in the Campus Center auditorium. Another one is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., also in the Campus Center auditorium.

UPDATE (10/5): According to CNN, as of today, states have begun to receive doses of the H1N1 vaccine in the FluMist form, with the first recipients being healthcare workers in Indiana and Tennessee. The Brattleboro Reformer/Associated Press in Vermont has also reported that New Hampshire received ” ‘a small portion’ ” of the vaccine, though “an estimate wasn’t immediately available.”

• Does the Baucus Bill include a public option, similar to the one President Obama proposed in his address?     No. The Baucus bill does not propose an outright public option to compete with private lenders, but it does introduce the concept of health co-ops. The bill also proposes a “high-risk insurance pool” option for those with pre-existing conditions who have been denied coverage in the past.
• How expensive is Baucus’ proposed plan? Is it realistic?     This one’s up for debate. According to Ezra Klein’s Washington Post article, the Congressional Budget Office has determined that over time, the Baucus bill actually reduces the deficit. According to another Washington Post article, the House Democrats’ proposed bill is far less attractive financially, costing “more than $1 trillion over the next decade.”
• How will the Baucus bill make insurance more affordable for families and individuals?     According to the Associated Press, Sen. Max Baucus is implementing even more changes to his original plan by making “government subsidies more generous” to working class families shopping around for insurance. Because the Baucus bill does require mandatory health coverage for all Americans by 2013, ways to make this more affordable for individuals and families has been an important factor in securing support for the bill.
• Does the bill have a plan to generate revenue for funding these government subsidies?     In short, yes. The bill plans to tax expensive insurance plans, sometimes referred to as “Cadillac plans.” However, this has drawn up quite a bit of controversy among workers in high-risk professions, who depend on their higher-cost health insurance for safety reasons.
• What qualifies an individual or a family for a “hardship waiver,” a way for those in lower-income brackets to opt out of the mandatory health care policy?     The Baucus bill set the hardship waiver exemption at 10 percent, meaning that if 10 percent of an individual’s income does not cover the cost of their state’s lowest premium, they would qualify. This number is still being negotiated – Congressional leaders do not want to leave families poverty-stricken from health insurance payments.

UMass' University Health Serivices, where students are being treated for H1N1, will administer the vaccine when it's available.

A Purell pump stationed in UMass' Campus Center entrance.

University of Massachusetts’ University Health Services (UHS) held an informational meeting on Thursday regarding the campus’ potential for an H1N1 breakout, the availability of and H1N1 vaccine and also addressed questions about the virus. The session was hosted by UHS’ public health nurse, Ann Becker.

Becker confirmed one case of H1N1 at UMass, but she made it clear that this wasn’t necessarily representative of the whole campus. UHS administrators send only a few cultures to state labs to check for the H1N1 virus.

“There was one culture confirmed, so the presumption is that H1N1 is in our campus community. To what extent, we don’t quantify each individual case, we don’t sample each individual case,” said Becker. “It’s more of a clinical marker – is it in the area, or is it not in the area.”

Becker also sees the potential for more cases to arise as the semester goes on.

“It’s possible to get a 30 to 40 percent illness rate [from H1N1 at UMass],” said Becker. “I won’t be surprised if we see more flu than we are. It’s just starting, so we don’t know which direction we’re going to go.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Web site (link), “26 states are reporting widespread influenza activity at this time.” They also note that “any reports of widespread influenza activity in September are very unusual.”

As far as vaccines are concerned, Becker is not sure when she’ll be receiving doses for H1N1, which will be provided to patients free by the federal government.

“We’re not given exact dates, but sometime starting in the next two weeks they’re saying we may get the flu mist (link) but it could be four weeks,” said Becker. “We will alert the campus community once we have the vaccine in hand, and when we have the clinic plan in hand … I’m sure by a variety of ways and [through] the UHS Web site”

She also noted that UHS ordered 32,000 vaccinations, a number that was calculated based on the risk categories given to them by the CDC.

One of the most interesting points about Fark is its apparent ability to drive conversation in other, arguably more prominent, news organizations. “During breaking news events, we’ll actually end up driving some of the conversation about it. In particular, the most recent time this happened was during the Iran election and the aftermath where all of a sudden…I was on the list for Poynter where somebody forwarded something that journalists were passing around to each other telling them to use Twitter and Fark to try to figure out what was going on in Iran,” said Curtis.

While sites like Twitter and Fark make news and events far more accessible to online users and the general population, it’s still somewhat concerning to professional journalists who have been formally trained in the ethics behind the written word. Before the Internet boom, newspapers were essentially the only source of information, with strict ethical principles driving content. The Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics (#mce_temp_url#) is enforced at most major news organizations, ensuring that the information printed is accurate and fair. With the advent of the Web, however, anyone with access to a computer has the ability to be a journalist. Fark actually “tags” or labels news items posted to the site — with adjectives like “weird,” “obvious” and “amusing,” ultimately swaying the readers’ perception of the article from the get-go. Sites that seem to have a decent amount of sway over public knowledge (like Fark) ultimately undermine these ethical standards, leaving it up to the reader to discern between fact and fiction, right and wrong.