May 12, 2006
Public Health Has The Flu
Flu Vaccine Priorities Test Pandemic Planning
By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 12, 2006; A10
On the Titanic, it was women and children first. During a syphilis outbreak in World War II, soldiers with the best chance of recovery were the ones to get precious doses of penicillin.In the event of a global flu pandemic, federal officials have said they intend to give vaccine first to health-care workers, followed by the oldest, sickest patients, a policy aimed at saving the most lives. But one of the government's top medical ethicists is challenging that approach, arguing it is more appropriate to give young adults priority because they are at higher risk of dying in a flu pandemic and still have many productive years left.
"Most people have the intuition to say, 'Give it to my 19-year-old. I got to 65; I've lived a good life,'" said Ezekiel Emanuel, head of the bioethics department at the National Institutes of Health. "We are not interested in purely the number of lives [saved], but also life-years."
As the government prepares for a potential pandemic influenza outbreak, one of the thorniest questions to arise is who should be first in line for limited supplies of antiviral medicine and vaccine.
Experts fear that the avian influenza that has raged through birds in Asia could trigger a pandemic if it gains the ability to move easily from human to human, with the potential to kill 210,000 to 1.9 million Americans. So far the H5N1 bird flu has infected only about 200 people, who had close contact with infected birds. (A pandemic would be caused by a flu strain distinct from those that cause seasonal outbreaks, and the annual flu vaccine would not protect against it.)
There is no debate that vaccine makers and medical personnel should be first to be immunized, because they will then be able to save many more lives. But deciding who follows is not an easy call, said Jon Abramson, chair of pediatrics at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and chair of one of two federal advisory panels that helped develop the current policy.
Some panel members argued that children should be the top priority, he said. "If you save a child who is 2, you've potentially saved 80 quality years," he explained. "If you save a 65-year-old, you may have only saved 15 years of quality life."
Already federal agencies are sparring over who is "critical," posing no-win dilemmas such as: air traffic controllers or border patrol officers? Meanwhile, state leaders and private corporations are scrambling to build their own stockpiles of antiviral medication, fearful the federal government will not deliver.
These are thorny questions but it is best to have this discussion now. That having been said, lets remember that there is no vaccine right now and that we wouldn't need to have this discussion if we had a robust vaccine industry capable of turning out sufficient doses for every one. This is just one sign of the way our public health infrastructure has been hollowed out in the last 5 decades.
Posted by Melanie at May 12, 2006 09:19 AM | TrackBackHealth care workers, first in line, no brainer, right? OK, consider the young RN support her mom and 2 kids. The Pandemic has reached her city and sh gets inocculated. Should she stay on at work and risk bring flu back home (clothes, hair, etc) or quit?
I can see this being yet another 'which child do you pull from the fire' question. Our son has weak lungs.
ould he get the shot, or not, because of it? How about his twin sister, who seems to be pretty normal?
Hi, guys. Very nice site! I saw some interesting pages:
[url=http://oncasinogame.com/free-online-casino-slot.html]red rock station casino jobs[/url] [url=http://oncasinogame.com/casino-casino-gambling-game-money-online-play-real.html]no deposit casino free download[/url] [url=http://oncasinogame.com/cas/2561.html]http://oncasinogame.com/cas/2561.html[/url [url=http://oncasinogame.com/cas/info.html]http://oncasinogame.com/cas/info.html[/url [url=http://oncasinogame.com/cas/index1.html]http://oncasinogame.com/cas/index1.html[/url [url=http://oncasinogame.com/cas/2561.html]http://oncasinogame.com/cas/2561.html[/url
red rock station casino jobs no deposit casino free download http://oncasinogame.com/cas/2561.html http://oncasinogame.com/cas/info.html http://oncasinogame.com/cas/index1.html buy xanax
http://oncasinogame.com/cas/index.php?n=5&id;=2047 http://oncasinogame.com/cas/index.php?n=5&id;=812 http://buy-xanax.cubacigar.org
Please look it! Thank.
Hi, guys. Very nice site! I saw some interesting pages:
[url=http://oncasinogame.com/casino-eagle-soaring.html]turning stone casino concerts[/url] [url=http://oncasinogame.com/casino-casino-gambling-game-money-online-play-real.html]card casino free game online[/url] [url=http://oncasinogame.com/casino-poker-game-online-web-site.html]soaring eagle casino event[/url] [url=http://oncasinogame.com/gift-cards-for-atlantic-city-casinos.html]red river rock casino package deals[/url] [url=http://oncasinogame.com/casino-cage-cashier-supervisor-jobs-in-las-vegas,nv.html]limited edition casino chips[/url] [url=http://oncasinogame.com/turning-stone-resort-and-casino.html]best online casino website[/url] [url=http://oncasinogame.com/casino-cage-cashier-supervisor-jobs-in-las-vegas,nv.html]casino new stone turning verona york[/url] [url=http://oncasinogame.com/gift-cards-for-atlantic-city-casinos.html]bonus casino deposit free give online that without[/url] [url=http://oncasinogame.com/turning-stone-resort-and-casino.html]casino on net tournament[/url] [url=http://oncasinogame.com/casino-cage-cashier-supervisor-jobs-in-las-vegas,nv.html]station casino jobs[/url]
turning stone casino concerts card casino free game online soaring eagle casino event red river rock casino package deals limited edition casino chips best online casino website casino new stone turning verona york bonus casino deposit free give online that without casino on net tournament station casino jobs
http://oncasinogame.com/cas/index.html http://oncasinogame.com/cas/index1.html http://oncasinogame.com/cas/index5.html http://oncasinogame.com/cas/info.html http://oncasinogame.com/cas/index.php?n=5&id;=570 http://oncasinogame.com/cas/index.php?n=5&id;=2552 http://oncasinogame.com/cas/2561.html http://oncasinogame.com/cas/5230.html http://oncasinogame.com/cas/index.php?n=5&id;=1588 http://oncasinogame.com/cas/index.php?n=5&id;=2320
Please look it! Thank.
