President Obama, Michelle Get Swine Flu Shots

President Barack Obama said Tuesday he and his wife, Michelle, have been vaccinated against the A(H1N1) flu virus, urging other Americans to do the same.

"People need to understand that this vaccine is safe," Obama told Urban Radio Networks.

100 Million Swine Flu Vaccines Available in the US
The United States will this week reach a landmark in the fight against swine flu as 100 million doses of vaccine become available to the public, Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Thursday.

"Michelle and I just got the shots ourselves... we wanted to make sure nationwide that children were getting it before adults did. And now there's enough vaccine so that adults should get it as well."

The White House, meanwhile, released a photograph of Obama pulling up his sleeve as a nurse stood by, needle in hand, to administer the vaccine.

Some 100 million doses of A(H1N1) vaccine are now available to the public in the United States.

Swine Flu Vaccine for Infants, Toddlers Recalled in US
More than three-quarters of a million doses of swine flu vaccine for infants and children were recalled Tuesday in the United States after routine tests showed they had lost potency.

Seasonal flu usually hits the elderly hard, but swine flu has impacted children and young adults the most.

Obama spoke about how his daughters, Sasha, 9, and Malia, 11, were vaccinated in October, when the shot first became available to school-age children.

Germany Wants to Sell Spare Swine Flu Vaccines: Health Minister
Germany wants to sell to other countries millions of spare swine flu vaccines because of fewer people than expected coming forward to be injected, the country's health minister said on Monday.

"That's the most important population because this flu, unlike seasonal flu, disproportionately affects children and young people," he said.

"I think people just need to understand: If I had the two people that are most important in my life, my two daughters, get it right away, and they've been just fine with it and in fact haven't gotten sick this entire flu season, then you need to know that you need to make sure your children get it as well."

Swine Flu Vaccine Effective Despite Mutations: Experts
Swine flu vaccines are still effective despite reported cases of mutations in the A(H1N1) virus, health experts in Europe and North America said Saturday.

Health officials said around 1,100 children and 7,500 young adults died of swine flu in the United States from April to November.

The same seven-month period saw an estimated 47 million cases of swine flu, 213,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths in the United States.

The US flu season usually begins in October and lasts until May, but the A(H1N1) virus erupted unusually early, in April, and has so far infected people year-round.

Source-AFP
SRM