China Springs Nagin After Swine Flu Scare

Older kids, like adults, get effective H1N1 inoculation from just 1 dose

(NEWSER) - Kids over age 9 can safely join adults in receiving just one shot of swine flu vaccine, the Washington Post reports. A test of 650 subjects showed 76% of children between 10 and 17 had a response to a vaccine produced by Sanofi Pasteur, and it was strong enough that protection from the virus could be assumed. Kids under 10 will still need two doses—only 25% to 36% of them exhibited a strong vaccine response. More»

Sick students start school in quarantine zones

(NEWSER) - College freshers across the country are starting their life in higher education confined to buildings full of their coughing peers, the New York Times reports. Fearing the virus will sweep through campuses, colleges have set up quarantine dorms for sick students, keeping them out of class and plying them with food and medication. Estimates are there are 2,000 current swine flu cases at colleges, and many, many more on the way. More»

(AP) - Nobel Peace laureate and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias said today that he has swine flu, showing that not even a head of state is safe from the virus that has caused worldwide concern but relatively few deaths. The 69-year-old Arias said he is quarantined at home and being treated with anti-flu medicine. More»

(NEWSER) - Pregnant women and people who care for infants will be first in line for the swine flu vaccine this fall, the Washington Post reports. Infants, children and young adults under 24, chronically ill adults aged 25 to 64, and health care workers are the other top priority groups under guidelines drawn up by experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday. More»

As outbreaks spread like wildfire, counselors quarantine kids

(NEWSER) - H1N1 may not have ended civilization as we know it, but it’s ruined a lot of stays at summer camp, the New York Times reports. Camps are dry tinder for flu outbreaks, and many have canceled or postponed this year's sessions. Others have been split nearly in half to quarantine infected campers. “We’ve never had flu in the summer like this,” said Maine’s public health director. “We have 33 camps in Maine with outbreaks.” More»