75th Medical Group

The Food and Drug Administration's advisory committee is recommending including pandemic H1N1 into next flu season's vaccine.

Committee members are agreeing that it's still somewhat early in the year to predict what may happen with the pandemic strain, but they agreed that pandemic H1N1's predominance, unpredictability and the relative absence of traditional virus strains warranted the need for the pandemic strain's inclusion into next season's vaccine.

The inclusion of the H1N1 pandemic virus in the influenza vaccine does not necessarily signal that the pandemic is over.

If you've ever wondered about the power of education, wonder no more. Thanks to the incredible effort from everyone on base and in the local communities, we are starting to see a decline in the number of new cases of Novel H1N1 Influenza. We are seeing an unprecedented level of awareness and good flu season practices. Keep up the good work, but don't get complacent and stop now. It's more important than ever to keep using all the precautions set forth by the Centers for Disease Control to continue slowing the spread of both H1N1 and seasonal flu.

T he Centers for Disease Control reports findings from a phone survey that of H1N1 patients with asthma who later required hospitalization, half of them did not seek medical attention during the progression of the illness. This prompts the reminder that if H1N1 presents itself and the individual has an underlying health condition it is important to contact a health provider as it could present a higher risk of flu complications.

What should you do if you are sick?