What's The Big Deal About H1N1?

Shipments of the H1N1 vaccine have, reportedly, begun...some set to arrive in Georgia and South Carolina next week. Nearly 55-thousand doses will go to regional health district offices. Meanwhile a poll this week in which only 40-percent of parents plan to get their kids vaccinated is another sign of growing skepticism. How worried should you be?

There's a lot of confusion over just how big a deal H1N1 or swine flu really is. On the one hand you hear it's pretty similar to the regular seasonal flu - on the other, you hear that many more people are expected to die of this strain. So what's the truth? News 3 went to the experts to find out. H1N1 or swine flu - it has similar symptoms to the regular seasonal flu...and like that flu - most cases will be mild to moderate. So what's the big deal? "Unlike seasonal flu, we know that there's a large segment of our population, particularly children and young adults, that have no immunity to H1N1,” says Dr. Diane Weems of the Chatham County Health Department. That's because it's a brand new virus - never seen before - which means there's a much larger population susceptible to this virus says Dr. Weems, “So we expect a lot more people to get sick, so if a lot more people get sick, it's reasonable to expect we'll have more hospitalizations, and more deaths." Not because the flu is really more severe, but because you have a bigger base of people getting sick.

Some of WSAV’s Facebook fans posted their own questions for Dr. Weems. We explained how it's different from the regular seasonal flu in response to Erin Hawkins Andrews' question...
But Sara McDonald Fisk also wanted to know how many different types of H1N1 there are.
Dr. Weems says, "There are different strains, I mean, potentially, but right now we know that the vaccine targets the H1N1 subtype that is circulating in our community now. We've seen no genetic mutation or change in the virus so far." Fisk also asked if the virus itself can kill you if you don't have any other underlying conditions. "When you develop influenza - you are more susceptible to developing pneumonia and a secondary bacterial infection, but you can die just from the complications of the viral pneumonia fluid buildup in your lungs that can compromise your ability to breathe," says Dr. Weems.

Dr. Weems says the best thing you can do right now is to wash your hands...and wash them well. Stay home if you don't feel well, but once the vaccine becomes available Dr. Weems says - everyone - except those under 6 months of age - should get "two" flu shots this year - one for the regular seasonal flu and one for H1N1.