U.S. Kids "Priority" For Swine Flu Shots

Amid Vaccination Plans, HHS Secretary Weighs Scenario That Schools May Not Be Equipped This Fall

(CBS/AP)  Schoolchildren may be first in line for swine flu vaccine this fall - and might even be able to get the shot right at school.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is taking that possible scenario to school superintendents around the country, urging them to spend the summer planning what to do if the government decides it needs their buildings for mass vaccinations.

"If you think about vaccinating kids, schools are the logical place," Sebelius told The Associated Press Tuesday.

No decision has been made yet on whether and how to vaccinate millions of Americans against the new flu strain that the World Health Organization last week formally dubbed a pandemic, meaning it now is circulating the globe unchecked.

But the U.S. is pouring money into development of a vaccine in anticipation of giving at least some people the shots. While swine flu for now doesn't seem any more lethal than the regular flu that strikes each winter, scientists fear it may morph into a more dangerous strain. Regardless, it can kill, and the WHO says about half of the world's more than 140 known deaths so far have been people who were previously young and healthy.

If that trend continues, "the target may be school-age children as a first priority" for vaccination, Sebelius said in an wide-ranging AP interview. "That's being watched carefully."

Those shots would be in addition to the regular winter-flu shots that will be given as usual - and health officials are furiously planning how to make people understand who will need which vaccine, or maybe both.

"We really just don't know, unfortunately, at this point," Sebelius said, noting that those decisions will be made in part based on how swine flu behaves in the Southern Hemisphere this summer, where flu season is just beginning.

Companies are on track to provide pilot doses for testing later this summer, she said. Those government-led studies will check if the vaccine seems to work, if one dose or two will be needed, and most important if it's safe. The last mass vaccination against a different swine flu, in the U.S. in 1976, was marred by reports of a paralyzing side effect - for a feared outbreak that never happened.

So the Food and Drug Administration will closely track vaccine safety, Sebelius said.

The secretary said: "The worst of all worlds is to have the vaccine cause more damage than the flu potential."

Meanwhile, a woman in Scotland has become the first person outside of the Americas confirmed to have died from the H1N1 swine flu virus.

Britain has been harder hit by the virus than elsewhere in Europe. Earlier Sunday, Britain had reported another 61 cases of swine flu, bringing the country's total to 1,226 cases.

[tlynno]

One simple Question: Will President Obama's kids take the swine flu vaccine shot?

[barbaram99]

They show a photo of a child wearing a mask. What is wrong with it is the mask should cober the nose. In the photo the nose is uncovered.

[barbaram99]

It is awful today the medicating of children and if Michael Jackson's death is caused by meds -it should be a wake up call. Should we medicate children. I have very little faith in Drs. I am appalled at the ads pushing meds today on TV, It is just wrong. Years ago it was better. It is a power trip. America is drug nation by that I mean the docs control the people and get the them drug the docs feel is best..I asked a a doc what does this med do.She never told me. I told her don't write it as I won't take it. My late Dad hated meds. I as as rule feel alot of them are not safe..I think they do moew harm than good, I am just a lay person.I have to take some meds..They fuss over me just cos I am in my 50s. I hate taking pills..I trully hate it. I think docs need to lay off drugging people. They have no idea what the meds do a person. And the mixure of them. What it is we need to step up to the plate and I have -is it really needed..if not I don't want it. We know the flu kills.Do we do what Grammum did years ago..No..I don't run to the dr. for this or that. I never had childre for health reasons. In WA state the can't drive if taking meds. It is in their drivers manual. I can't drive as a blind person.

[janieanddeb]

What can we do .We live in a populated country . If we dont vacinate ,we are doomed but what if the vacine doesnt work or it causes a reaction'
Too late , I can see more people homeschooling , if there is not enough proff the vscination is safe
You cant just go off to a island til this passes ,most people live in a rental apartment closed confined and sharing elevators , what chance do they have

[sarah130]

Guess that's the norm now - kids as guinea pigs. The US can't get the adult population to take its worthless seasonal flu vaccine, so we know adding a second worthless flu shot isn't going to fly...way around that? Use the school system as an arm of big pharma/big brother to get those kids vaxied up! And since the WHO has declared the piggly-wink cold a 'pandemic', schools can oust kids whose parents refuse the vaccine. Expect much homeschooling - and who knows what side-effects for the poor school age kids that become part of this experiment.

[somthgspcl]

Well, it's nice to see THREE others know what I know ... now we're on a time-line ourselves in letting as many people know what we know (WITHOUT sounding like frickin extremists or conspiracy-theory freaks). The smartest each one of us could do is to get onto Youtube, and any other social network you can think of (facebook, twitter, etc.) and start alerting our countries moms and dads (starting w/your friends and family) of this lie/plan of an in-house terrorist-act type sabotage! It is amazing to think they'd stoop to such lows until you look at the FACTUAL amount of people including pregnant women and children CURRENTLY on mind-altering, addictive prescription meds these days (Melody Petersen's book, Our Daily Meds) is a real eye-opener on this. But believe it or not, if just the four of us reach 33, inform them and ask each one of them to do the same - we could actually create an educated people and positive effect in America before Fall ... I've got 1/2 of mine done already ... Go! ~:o)

[garbosmed]

Talk about putting the cart before the horse! One must wonder how they plan to adequately test these vaccines before implementing mass vaccination. If they plan to begin vaccinating in the fall there isn't going to be enough time for meaningfully broad human trials. This is a giant experiment being conducted before our eyes and on us. Each manufacturer seems to be using a different method and different adjuvants; Europe's main mfr. is planning to use insect cell cultures and MF59 adjuvant that isn't FDA approved here, which is squalene and has been proven to cause high numbers of autoimmune reactions. They are buying huge batches of these untested vaccines rather than demanding safer unadjuvented saline-based formulas, especially concerning given that the virus already seems to cause hyper-immune responses in those most severely affected. The only reason they are doing this is because of logistics and money, because the adjuvented vaccines may require a single dose rather than two. Safety is an afterthought. Does anyone really believe that after all this money, they will flush the new multi-billion dollare stockpiles down the toilet if they cause dangerous side effects during the testing phase? Why put children at the head of the line when the majority of deaths so far have been in the 18-35 age group? If we're going to play Russian Roulette, let's point the gun at the adults. Even the 1976 vaccine wasn't given to kids.

[andylance1]

The administration foolishly spent a billion dollars on swine flu vaccine, and now they are trying to decide what to do with their expensive mistake. The last swine flu vaccine back in the 1970s did far more damage than good.

Vaccines given to troops during the Gulf War damaged many thousands with Gulf War Syndrome, which for years the VA denied even existed. Since we are already damaging kids with Ritalin, why not give them a dose of the new vaccine?