Hello, I'm Pamela Bryant.
I'm a mom and a CDC worker, and just like you,
I have questions about the new H1N1 flu
and the H1N1 flu vaccine.
With me today is Dr. Anne Schuchat,
a chief scientist at CDC, who will share information with us
on some common questions about the new H1N1 virus.
Dr. Anne, so you're a chief scientist and director
for CDC's Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Center.
What's with the uniform?
You know, I wear the uniform because I'm part
of the U.S. Public Health Service Commission Corps.
It's a non-military uniformed service.
I'm a doctor, but a lot of people
think I'm an airplane pilot.
But I'm actually just a CDC worker like you.
I've been here over 20 years.
Okay, so you've had a great career at CDC.
I understand you've been very busy
talking with many different people about H1N1.
Tell us, what is H1N1, and how is it affecting people?
The H1N1 influenza virus is new.
It just emerged last spring in 2009.
And, you know, some people
have heard of it as "the swine flu."
Important to know that this doesn't have to do
with eating pork or touching pigs or anything.
This is a virus that's affecting
a lot of people right now.
And we're working hard on it,
to try to keep people healthy and safe from it.
Okay, well, I have a few questions,
a few more questions for you,
and so I can't remember everything --
I decided to write them down.
Before we talk about vaccines,
I'm confused, along with everyone else --
what are we calling this?
Right, we're calling this "2009 H1N1."
We're trying to differentiate it from seasonal flu,
or what you might think of as "the regular flu."
Every year, there is about 200,000 people
hospitalized from seasonal flu.
And this year, we also have
this new H1N1 virus in the mix,
and so we're working hard to make sure
that we can protect people against seasonal flu,
but also against the H1N1 virus.
Okay, and so when you say "seasonal flu,"
that's regular flu that some people get every year.
That's right.
And those seasonal flu viruses
change a little bit, year to year,
but not so much, and this new H1N1 virus
is so different that we don't think
the general population is protected against it.
And we're taking extra steps to offer protection.
We do a lot for seasonal flu.
We offer flu vaccine each year.
This year, we're making a special vaccine up,
the H1N1 vaccine, that will be offered
in addition to the seasonal flu.
There will probably be different recommendations,
but I can tell you a little about them, if you want.
The H1N1 vaccine we're offering
for five focused priority groups right now --
for pregnant women, for health care workers,
for people who live with or care for
babies under 6 months --
because those babies
can't get the vaccine themselves,
we want their moms and dads and their caregivers
to also get vaccinated.
For children and young adults
between 6 months of age and 24 years of age.
And we want them to get vaccinated
because a lot of them have been getting sick.
They've been a big feature
in the early disease that we've seen.
And then we also recommend the vaccine
for adults 25 through 64 years of age who have
underlying chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma,
chronic heart disease or chronic lung disease,
because those people have had
worse complications from the influenza.
They've had more hospitalizations,
and some have died.
So how many doses would each person need to get?
You know, with the usual seasonal flu vaccine
or "regular flu" vaccine, most people just need one dose.
But with the H1N1 vaccine,
we think most people are going to need two doses.
So, for starters, we're expecting everybody
to get one dose, and then three weeks later,
come back for a second dose.
And should people expect to experience
any side effects from having received two doses --
one for regular flu
and that first dose for H1N1 on the same day?
You know, we're expecting that it's just fine
to get both a seasonal flu vaccine
and the H1N1 vaccine at the same visit.
We're just expecting a shot in each arm, not --
that that would be the way to go,
so that that's the plan.
Now, we also think the seasonal flu vaccine
is going to be available sooner than the H1N1 vaccine,
so you don't have to wait.
We think it's a good idea
to get that seasonal flu vaccine
as soon as it's available near you,
and then when the H1N1 vaccine becomes available,
take advantage of that.
Okay, well, I have two children --
I mentioned that I'm a mom --
and they both are vaccinated
each year against the regular flu.
And, of course, we're considering
the H1N1 flu vaccine, as well.
It's great that your kids are getting
the seasonal flu vaccine every year.
We think that's terrific.
And we do think getting the H1N1 vaccine
will be important for them, too.
Okay.
I know there's a nasal spray for the regular flu vaccine.
Will this same nasal spray be available for H1N1?
Well, they're actually different ways
of fighting off influenza.
The shot is a killed virus,
and the nasal spray is the weakened virus.
But the really important thing is that
neither the nasal spray nor the shot can give you flu.
They can protect you against flu.
A lot of people think that the flu vaccine gives you flu.
It can't.
So you've talked about vaccines and what's in them.
But we're also hearing words like, "adjuvants."
And just yesterday, someone asked me about Squalene.
What are those?
Squalene is an adjuvant.
Adjuvants are put into vaccines
to increase the immune system.
We're not actually expecting to use adjuvants
for the H1N1 influenza vaccines that we're making.
We have bought adjuvant to have on the shelf.
It's really an emergency provision or a contingency plan.
If this virus mutates and becomes
much, much different and more severe,
we might need to add adjuvants
in order to have an immune response that's effective.
But for the time being,
we really aren't expecting to use them.
We're expecting to be using vaccines that are produced
exactly the same as the seasonal influenza vaccines are,
and they don't have adjuvants here in the United States.
Well, with that in mind, is the new vaccine safe?
It's really important to me, as a doctor
and a public health expert,
that our vaccine safety system is really strong.
I can tell you what we're doing.
We have a system that's out there
for vaccines in general, but we're strengthening it
for this H1N1 vaccine system.
We want to make sure that if there are
any problems associated with this vaccine,
we find them quickly
and we do something about them.
And where can we get the vaccine?
You know, in every state
and city, it might be just a little bit different,
and so the way that this vaccine distribution
is going to work is that the public health departments
in the state or the large city areas
will be directing the program.
We're expecting there to be school clinics
where school-age children may be able
to get the vaccine right at school
after their parents sign a permission slip for that.
We're also expecting the vaccine to be available
in some doctors' offices and in some pharmacies
and workplaces, as well as in
some community center kinds of clinics.
But the specifics are going to depend on where you live,
so we think it's going to be important
for the public health and the private health system
to be in close communication
and for everybody out there to stay tuned.
You mentioned schools
and school settings for vaccinations.
Will this be required for entry into school
or for kids to be able to stay in school?
No, not at all.
What we're offering is a voluntary vaccination program
where we want to make sure people have access to vaccine
and that vaccine is available for them,
but we don't want this to be a mandatory program.
So kids won't be kept out of school
if they don't get the vaccine.
We want parents to have good information
so they can decide about the vaccine,
and we want to make sure it's easy
for them to get it for their kids.
And again, these vaccines are being thoroughly tested --
That's right.
on different populations or different types of people?
You know, there are a number of studies going on.
They're being done around the country
in a number of cities.
There are some studies in other countries, as well.
And they're being tested on a diverse group of people --
children and adults, pregnant women,
men and women.
So we'll really get a lot of information from those.
But it's really important for people
to know that we've got a huge experience
with the seasonal influenza vaccine.
Every year, about 100 million people
in the U.S. get that.
And we look at what happens with it.
So I know that many people wonder, you know,
"How bad is this flu,
and what could the vaccine do to me?"
Based on what I know today,
I'm pretty concerned about this virus
and what the influenza virus itself can do,
and I'm feeling very comfortable with the safety information,
but knowing that we're going to keep looking
and that it's important that we do that.
Thank you, Dr. Anne,
for joining me today and answering
many of the questions and concerns that people
are having about the H1N1 flu and the H1N1 flu vaccine.
It's been my pleasure, Pam,
and it's great to get to meet you.
Yes, thank you.
I hope this conversation has been helpful.
And now that Dr. Anne knows me, I'd better make sure
that I get my kids vaccinated,
so that they won't miss school and that I won't miss work.
Thanks for watching.
Dr. Anne, here are a couple of pictures of my kids.