you are probably high risk but to be sure ask your family doctor.
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New data released on H1N1 vaccine effectiveness in children, pregnant women.
The CBS Evening News (11/2, story 4, 1:50, Couric) reported that the CDC said Monday that "about 30 million doses of [H1N1] vaccine have been manufactured, still far short of the 250 million expected to be produced." However, in "encouraging news about the vaccine's effectiveness," CBS reported, "Twenty-one days after receiving a single dose of the vaccine, 92 percent of pregnant women had adequate immunity from H1N1." Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, "This should be reassuring news to those women who already have received the vaccine and it is vital information for those pregnant women who have not yet been vaccinated."
The New York Times (11/3, A20, McNeil) notes that "children under 10 still need two doses, federal officials said Monday." Dr. Fauci said that "children from six months to nine years old should still get two doses, about a month apart." Meanwhile, in a trial of 50 healthy pregnant women, Dr. Fauci said that the participants "did not experience any unusual rates of side effects and one 15-microgram dose gave a protective level of antibodies." The Wall Street Journal (11/3, Dooren) points out that officials have seen no safety concerns arise in the pregnant women, according to Fauci.
The Washington Post (11/3, Stein) reports that the study results on children and pregnant women "came as an independent panel of experts organized by the Health and Human Services Department to monitor the safety of the vaccine met for the first time to review the data." The National Vaccine Advisory Committee's H1N1 Vaccine Safety Working Group will meet biweekly "to monitor the results of data being collected to detect any problems with the vaccine."
ABC World News (11/2, story 6, 2:00, Gibson) reported on the panel, noting that "experts from around the country gathered to scour for even the smallest clues that the H1N1 vaccine is causing dangerous reactions. Dr. Bruce Gellin is the government's point man on vaccines, and says of the millions who have received the vaccine so far there have been only 302 reported side effects." Dr. Bruce Gellin, of the National Vaccine Program Office, said that side effects were "mostly sore arms, malaise, fever, things like that." According to ABC, "The government's massive surveillance effort involves cross-checking lists of those who have received the vaccine with any later reports of health problems. Data will come from health records from the Department of Defense, Veteran Affairs, the Indian Health Service, Medicare, and even from private healthcare plans covering 20 million Americans."
Bloomberg News (11/3, Wechsler) reports that the panel will use data provided from "federal health plans for the military, the poor and the elderly, and from clinical trials." HHS spokesman Bill Hall said that the group "will convene twice a month and report to US officials overseeing the vaccine program." Hall added, "This group will be looking for any signals that there's something we might need to look at. ... It will build a much bigger picture that vaccine safety experts can look at."
The AP (11/3, Schmid), CNN (11/3, Willingham), and Reuters (11/3, Fox) also cover the story.