Avoid Planes, Trains, Closed Spaces: Biden

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»

H1N1 can infect cells where seasonal flu can't: study

(NEWSER) - Swine flu can worm its way deeper into the body than seasonal flu, a dangerous capability that could result in increased fatalities if the virus mutates, AFP reports. Seasonal influenza is able to bind only to the tissues in the nose, throat, and upper airway—that’s why it causes runny noses and scratchy throats. But in a new study, the (A)H1N1 subtype of the flu was able to implant itself in tissues in the lungs. More»

Calls for 'vigilance,' not 'panic'

(NEWSER) - President Obama called for “rigorous” planning by state and local officials in anticipation of a possible swine flu outbreak this fall, CNN reports. “We want to make sure we aren't promoting panic, but we are promoting vigilance and preparation,” Obama—on a video link from the G8 summit in Italy—told governors and health workers attending a summit on the disease. He urged officials to be ready for a vaccination campaign and highlighted the potential threat to schools. More»

Response quick, but follow-up efforts weak

(NEWSER) - After a 39-year-old woman became Mexico’s first person to die of swine flu, authorities quickly responded—but efforts were mixed, the AP finds. Medical teams interviewed 472 people who possibly had contact with the woman, a tax collector whose family runs a convenience store; they temporarily closed the ICU where she’d been. But follow-up measures seem to have been weak. More»

(NEWSER) - Twitter and other social networks are creating a swine-flu panic out of a molehill with their instantaneous updates, Robert X. Cringely writes for InfoWorld. The quick flow of less-than-dependable information means “people with head colds decide they're really dying from a porcine-borne bug and flood emergency rooms.” And such a strain of internet-enabled paranoia could be a boon for cyberterrorists. More»