The USA Does Not Have Enough Tamiflu
24/10/2016 06:51
The USA Does Not Have Enough Tamiflu.
If the headlines are any indication, this year's flu mellow is turning out to be a whopper. Boston and New York declare have declared states of emergency, vaccine supplies are ceaseless out in spots, and some emergency departments are overwhelmed. And the narcotize Tamiflu, used to treat flu symptoms, is reportedly in short supply capsules. But is the spot as bad as it seems? The bottom line: It's too early in the flu period to say for sure, according to health experts.
Certainly there are worrying signs. "This year there is a higher include of positive tests coming back," said Dr Lewis Marshall Jr, chairman of the control of emergency medicine at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in New York City. "Emergency rooms are experiencing an influx of people.
People are distressing to find the vaccine and having a unfalteringly time due to the fact that it's so late in the vaccination season". But the vaccine is still available, said Dr Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, in a averral Tuesday. "The FDA has approved influenza vaccines from seven manufacturers, and collectively they have produced an estimated 135 million doses of this season's flu vaccine for the US".
And "We have received reports that some consumers have found predicament shortages of the vaccine. We are monitoring this situation". Consumers can go to flu.gov to discovery native sources for flu shots, including clinics, supermarkets and pharmacies. For public who have the flu "be assured that the FDA is working to designate sure that medicine to look after flu symptoms is available for all who need it.
We do anticipate intermittent, temporary shortages of the vocal suspension form of Tamiflu - the liquid version often prescribed for children - for the residue of the flu season. However, the FDA is working with the manufacturer to increase supply". The flu time seems to have started earlier than usual.
A report Friday from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 47 states were reporting widespread influenza activity, up from 41 earlier the week before. But the publicize also stated that the flu has begun to decrease in some areas, especially in the Southeast, where it principal showed up.
And doctors' visits for flu have dropped, a CDC spokesman said. This is characteristic of a famously unpredictable virus. "One of the characteristics of flu is that you see lots of geographic differences in the consequences and timing of epidemics, so while you might see an outbreak start to go away in one area, it might be just beginning in another area," said Dr John Treanor, leader of infectious diseases at the University of Rochester Medical Center, in New York.
So "I wouldn't be surprised at all to accept a decline in the number of cases in the Northeast but at the same rhythm see more cases developing in the West". Marshall said flu pursuit generally peaks in late January, but it's unclear if this year's early start means the flu also will climax early. Other factors may be complicating the issue.
For instance, last year's occasion was relatively mild, which may have "magnified the perception that this year is more severe". Although this year "is a more more severe outbreak than we've seen in the US for several years, so it's probably a combination of both things".
The flu this year isn't naturally causing more severe illness, at least not across the board. This year's H3N2 virus is non-specifically characterized by higher rates of illness in older hoi polloi and correspondingly higher rates of hospital admissions and deaths. The FDA's Hamburg said, "Although the carry on year's flu season was relatively mild, this season is turning out to be more severe. On the firm side, the vaccine is well matched this season to the circulating virus strains that are causing influenza".
The bottom song and dance is that no one knows what kind of flu season this year is going to turn out to be. "Projection is very difficult," said Dr Kenneth Bromberg, chairman of pediatrics and governor of the Vaccine Research Center at Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City. "You have no thought what's affluent to happen" vitolax next day. treanor agreed. "If you've seen one flu season, you've seen one flu season".
If the headlines are any indication, this year's flu mellow is turning out to be a whopper. Boston and New York declare have declared states of emergency, vaccine supplies are ceaseless out in spots, and some emergency departments are overwhelmed. And the narcotize Tamiflu, used to treat flu symptoms, is reportedly in short supply capsules. But is the spot as bad as it seems? The bottom line: It's too early in the flu period to say for sure, according to health experts.
Certainly there are worrying signs. "This year there is a higher include of positive tests coming back," said Dr Lewis Marshall Jr, chairman of the control of emergency medicine at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in New York City. "Emergency rooms are experiencing an influx of people.
People are distressing to find the vaccine and having a unfalteringly time due to the fact that it's so late in the vaccination season". But the vaccine is still available, said Dr Margaret Hamburg, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, in a averral Tuesday. "The FDA has approved influenza vaccines from seven manufacturers, and collectively they have produced an estimated 135 million doses of this season's flu vaccine for the US".
And "We have received reports that some consumers have found predicament shortages of the vaccine. We are monitoring this situation". Consumers can go to flu.gov to discovery native sources for flu shots, including clinics, supermarkets and pharmacies. For public who have the flu "be assured that the FDA is working to designate sure that medicine to look after flu symptoms is available for all who need it.
We do anticipate intermittent, temporary shortages of the vocal suspension form of Tamiflu - the liquid version often prescribed for children - for the residue of the flu season. However, the FDA is working with the manufacturer to increase supply". The flu time seems to have started earlier than usual.
A report Friday from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 47 states were reporting widespread influenza activity, up from 41 earlier the week before. But the publicize also stated that the flu has begun to decrease in some areas, especially in the Southeast, where it principal showed up.
And doctors' visits for flu have dropped, a CDC spokesman said. This is characteristic of a famously unpredictable virus. "One of the characteristics of flu is that you see lots of geographic differences in the consequences and timing of epidemics, so while you might see an outbreak start to go away in one area, it might be just beginning in another area," said Dr John Treanor, leader of infectious diseases at the University of Rochester Medical Center, in New York.
So "I wouldn't be surprised at all to accept a decline in the number of cases in the Northeast but at the same rhythm see more cases developing in the West". Marshall said flu pursuit generally peaks in late January, but it's unclear if this year's early start means the flu also will climax early. Other factors may be complicating the issue.
For instance, last year's occasion was relatively mild, which may have "magnified the perception that this year is more severe". Although this year "is a more more severe outbreak than we've seen in the US for several years, so it's probably a combination of both things".
The flu this year isn't naturally causing more severe illness, at least not across the board. This year's H3N2 virus is non-specifically characterized by higher rates of illness in older hoi polloi and correspondingly higher rates of hospital admissions and deaths. The FDA's Hamburg said, "Although the carry on year's flu season was relatively mild, this season is turning out to be more severe. On the firm side, the vaccine is well matched this season to the circulating virus strains that are causing influenza".
The bottom song and dance is that no one knows what kind of flu season this year is going to turn out to be. "Projection is very difficult," said Dr Kenneth Bromberg, chairman of pediatrics and governor of the Vaccine Research Center at Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City. "You have no thought what's affluent to happen" vitolax next day. treanor agreed. "If you've seen one flu season, you've seen one flu season".