Girl, 12, had H1N1 virus

Darlene there is no why of giving the prisoners shots before children. Give to the prison employees. Shut down all visitation period! If they are being released into public give them a quick check up or quarantine for 7 days before leaving prison. I’m sure they have records of who’s leaving the prison and when.  Let them scramble for a shot once they are out like everyone else has to. If they are going in put them in a different area away from the other prisoners for 8 days to make sure they are ok then put them in general population. Children need the shots. Would you want to be responsible for children getting sick because a prisoner got the shot before them. I can’t even believe they have the nerve to say something like this. How can a prisoner have more rights than an innocent child? They are already talking about not having enough then you want to give to prisoners 1st. They have poor reasoning. A little brain power, thought & work they can make the prison safe until there is enough shots for all. Sorry prisoners lost (or should have) their rights once they went behind those bars. I for one am glad I don’t live in Ma and have a child.

While I agree that it seems insane to make vaccinations available to prisoners before the general public, I can see the “Why” of it.  If a virus goes through a prison, which would happen quickly…who pays for those medical bills, hospitalization costs, doctors fees, ambulance trips, medications…the taxpayers do.  Imagine the medical costs of doctoring up hundreds of inmates. You go to the hospital, and can’t be seen right away because prisoners are all infected and being seen, etc.

As for closing schools, I can see it if a school appears to have a ton of cases, just to stop the spread in the near future.  Yes, it’s everywhere, but let’s face it…schools are big petri dishes of germs.  But to close schools for a few cases…we have to be realistic.  We close it for a week, we go back, then what?  Another case happens, do we close again?  This oculd go on for months, unfortunately.  The majority of people will be just fine, we have to remember that the seasonal flu also kills thousands of people every year, and try not to panic.

But if one of the administrators/teachers fell ill, you can bet your a$$ they’d close the schools.

Add to favorites Examiner Bio The TRUTH about H1N1, and what we’re NOT being told.
October 5, 10:24 AMGwinnett County

Is the truth about the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus being kept away from the public just to alleviate the “fear” of H1N1? I’ll tell my story and let you decide.

The week of September 1st, my Uncle contracted the H1N1 virus. His son also had the virus, and we assume they were exposed to it at a Cub Scout camping trip the weekend before, or from another child in his son’s class at school. It is too difficult to say exactly how anyone contracts the flu virus.

My Uncle has significant underlying health issues because he previously had Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), and went through a bone marrow transplant. This put him at a much greater risk of catching the virus, and having a more difficult time dealing with it. As a result of these issues, he became worse very quickly and found himself unable to breathe. He spent the next 6 days at Emory Hospital being tested and treated for the virus and pulmonary issues.

My Mother, my Aunt, and I were his primary caretakers during his time at Emory, and I got to ask a lot of questions about the H1N1 virus directly to doctors from the infectious disease department. The statement from the doctor that made the most impact on me was this:

“If you have H1N1, you are contagious for 7 days after the last day (24 hours) of a fever.”

After learning more than I ever wanted to know about H1N1, I asked what seemed to be the taboo question of the year.

“If you are contagious for 7 days after your last recorded fever has gone, why is the CDC recommending that children go back to school only 24 hours after their last recorded fever?”

Evidentially, I went too far with that question. “Ums” and “ahs” seemed to be the only thing out of the doctor’s mouths. The only response I got was this:

“Every school board is making its own decision about what is best for its children. You need to check with your school board to inquire about the decision they made.”

And again I said,

“That’s not what I asked. I asked why the CDC was recommending that children could return to school 24 hours after the fever was gone.”

The only other response I got from the Emory Hospital Infectious Disease Doctor was,

“With each passing day, the infectiousness diminishes, but you should inquire with the CDC if you have any further questions regarding the length of infectiousness of H1N1.”

Call me crazy, but it sounds to me like children should be kept away from school or any other children for 7 days after their fever has broken. Doesn’t it sound that way to you?

Good point tiredofri.  How would the inmates get flu symptoms in the first place if someone from the outside didn’t bring it in?