Posts Tagged ‘Early’

3 drug chains offering seasonal flu shots early

3 drug chains offering seasonal flu shots early
Many drug stores are offering flu shots earlier than in past years in line with a new federal recommendation.

Read more on WABC-TV New York

Early Symptoms of Swine Flu

My husband may be infected.

RI and MA participants in HIN1 (Swine) Flu vaccine studies to receive vaccinations early

DATELINE: WARWICK, RIâ?¦
The race is on to find the most effective H1N1 (Swine) flu vaccine in time for inoculations this fall. As part of this effort, Omega Medical Research in Warwick, Rhode Island has announced that it will be conducting several investigational HIN1 Flu vaccine studies starting in August to assist in the development of a safe and effective vaccine.

On June 11, 2009 the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6 in response to the ongoing spread of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus commonly known as Swine Flu. WHO stated, â??The 2009 influenza pandemic has spread internationally with unprecedented speed. In past pandemics, influenza viruses have needed more than six months to spread as widely as the new H1N1 virus has spread in less than six weeks.â?

David L. Fried, MD, the medical director for Omega Medical Research, and the Principal Investigator on investigational HIN1 Flu vaccine studies to be conducted at the center, stressed the urgency of this undertaking, â??At this time, the best preventative measure to avoid H1N1 is to receive vaccination and immunization.  Omega Medical Research is conducting one of the few studies in the country that provides the initial vaccine to volunteers who participate in this important study.â?

Recent comments from Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) indicate that the virus is not going away and that the 2009 H1N1 virus patterns are quite different from seasonal influenza, â??This virus is continuing to cause illness here in the U.S. even in the summer and continues to affect a generally younger population than what we see in terms of the seasonal influenza.â?

Schuchat continued, â??We do expect there to be an increase in influenza that occurs this fall, perhaps earlier than what we see with seasonal influenza. In particular, we think there may be challenges when people return to schools and our communities get back into the sort of the regular times with lots of kids congregated together.â?

This spring several Rhode Island schools closed temporarily due to H1N1 (Swine) flu concerns including the Greystone Elementary School in North Providence, North Kingstown High School, and the Pier Middle School in Narragansett. In Southeastern Massachusetts the Assawompsett Elementary School in Lakeville and the Mary Fonseca Elementary School in Fall River both closed temporarily this spring due to H1N1 (Swine) flu outbreaks. To date, 2 H1N1 (Swine) flu deaths have been confirmed in Rhode Island and 6 deaths in Massachusetts.

Residents of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts who would like to participate in Omega Medical Researchâ??s investigational HIN1 Flu vaccine studies should contact Patty Feole, RN at 401-739-3573 as soon as possible. Volunteers are needed in four age groups: 6 to 35 months; 2 years to 17 years; 18 years to 64 years; and 65 years and older. Study participants will receive compensation for their time and travel to Omega Medical Research, which is conveniently located near Routes 295 and 95 in Warwick, Rhode Island.

Clinical Research Center of Excellence
Omega Medical Research, founded in 1993, is a nationally recognized clinical research center providing accurate, efficient, and high quality clinical trials services to the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and medical device industries. Omega Medical Research is located at 400 Bald Hill Road in Warwick, RI, conveniently adjacent to Routes 295 and 95. Their hours of operation are: Monday 7:30am-4:30pm, Tuesday 7:30am-4:30pm, Wednesday 7:30am-5:30pm, Thursday 7:30am-4:30pm, and Friday 8:00am-2:00pm.

Omega Medical Research has extensive experience with vaccine protocols and is a member of the Alliance for Multispecialty Research (AMR), a unique network of independently owned, geographically diverse, and highly experienced Clinical Research Centers of Excellence. Membership in AMR is by invitation only and is the culmination of a rigorous review and acceptance process.

For additional information please contact Patty Feole, RN at 401-739-3573, or visit www.omegastudies.com.

Swine Flu Early Detection is the Key

As swine flu sweeps our nation and rest of the world, public awareness fueled by media, leads to people seeking out early surveillance and intervention on their own, in an effort to head off serious illness. You can’t blame them for wanting to protect themselves and their families, as over a million cases have been documented in the U.S. alone; so many that the CDC has quit counting. There are 2 medications on the market that have been shown to be effective against swine flu, Relenza and Tamiflu. These medicines have to be administered within 2 days of the onset of symptoms (which last about a week), and are said to shorten the duration of symptoms by about 2 days. Because early detection is vital for the efficacy of these drugs, rapid detection is necessary. Many manufacturers are currently working on versions of a rapid H1N1 test to allow early detection in minutes, as opposed to days as is with traditional virus testing.

The trouble is, the preliminary results of these types of these tests have been poor. It was determined that too many false negative results, as many as half, occurred on a regular basis. In other words, the test failed to detect known swine flu in laboratory conditions, meaning a negative test at the doctor’s office wouldn’t actually guarantee that you don’t really have the swine flu. This is important because the patients at higher risk that really need the medication might not be treated due to false negative results.

The bottom line is, at this point we don’t have a rapid swine flu test. Plus, the seasonal flu and swine flu symptoms are mostly indistinguishable and similar in duration. Those symptoms include fever, headache, coughing, sore throat, and muscle pains, and sometimes diarrhea or vomiting. If shortness of breath occurs, you may have swine flu. Still however, symptoms of both should only last about a week. Either way, if your going to go to the doctor to get him to write you a prescription for Tamiflu, go the first or second day you get symptoms, otherwise the medication won’t be effective.

Keep in mind that the media fuels paranoia and irrational behavior, so use your best judgment before running to the ER or your doctor’s office. Remember during the first gulf war and after 911 when gas masks were flying off the shelves of U.S. Army surplus stores? People didn’t even know what kind of nerve gas or chemical warfare they were trying to protect themselves from, they just felt better having something. For the flu, it may just be better to take some swine flu precautions and swine flu vaccine and stay in bed, and catch up on your favorite TV shows.