| ■ Swine flu hits hard, early — claims 11 more kids | 2009.10.17 |
| WASHINGTON - Swine flu is causing unprecedented illness for so early in the fall — including a worrisome count of child deaths — and the government warned Friday that vaccine supplies will be even more scarce than expected through this month. Federal health officials said 11 more children have died in the past week because of the virus. Manufacturer delays mean 28 million to 30 million doses, at most, will be divided around the country by the end of the month, not the 40 million-plus that states had been expecting. The new count from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention means anxiously awaited flu-shot clinics in some parts of the country may have to be postponed. It also delays efforts to blunt increasing infections. Overall, what CDC calls the 2009 H1N1 flu is causing widespread disease in 41 states, and about 6 percent of all doctor visits are for flu-like illness — levels not normally seen until much later in the fall. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about half of the child deaths since September have been among teenagers. And overall for the country, deaths from pneumonia and flu-like illnesses have passed what CDC considers an epidemic level. |