Swine flu could strike more than 100 million Americans over the next two years – and hundreds of thousands could die – if prevention measures fail, the nation’s top public health agency warned on Friday. The estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mean about twice the number of people who usually get sick in normal flu seasons would be struck by swine flu.
Officials admit the projections would drop dramatically if a new vaccine is ready in time, effective and widely available. Meanwhile, the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat urged all kids 18 and under to get a seasonal flu shot this fall, whether or not an H1N1 vaccine is available. She said the agency is strengthening recommendations for children to get the shot, especially with fears that the new H1N1 virus could intensify during the influenza season.
The U.S. plans to have as many as 160 million doses of swine flu vaccine available sometime in October, and U.S. tests of the new vaccine are to start shortly, federal officials said this week. Kids, pregnant women and health care workers are at the top of the list to be vaccinated against swine flu this fall, the city’s top doctor says.
Swine flu was also at the top of President Obama’s agenda when he arrived in Mexico Sunday night. “Everybody recognizes that H1N1 is going to be a challenge for all of us, and there are people who are going to be getting sick in the fall and die,” deputy White House national security adviser John Brennan said ahead of the North American Summit.
