WLOX-TV and WLOX.com - Building South Mississippi Together |Flu Season: Stay Informed & Stay Healthy
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The mass vaccination of students is underway in south Mississippi. This week, more than 6,000 Swine Flu shots will be given to students in Jackson County, Pascagoula and Gautier. And more than 1,200 students in the Biloxi School District will be getting the voluntary injections. As Trang Pham-Bui tells us, there were a few tears Tuesday, but no medical emergencies.
The Better Business Bureau is urging consumers to be skeptical of products that claim they can prevent, treat and even cure swine flu. Some people have been getting emails about this.
Starting next week, thousands of south Mississippi students will be lining up to get their Swine Flu shots. Several school districts sent home information kits and permission slips this week. Every school district along the coast will offer the H1N1 vaccine, except Ocean Springs, which does not plan to participate in the program. Trang Pham-Bui talks to the superintendent about his concerns.
Hear how one health reporter with asthma was blindsided when she came down with the H1N1 virus for ten days.
The H1N1 flu virus is sweeping the nation—and so are the myths about the vaccine. Go to any coffee shop or grocery store and you’ll hear them. But here are the facts from the health experts themselves.
Mississippi's uninsured and underinsured can receive free swine flu medication. The state Department of Health announced Monday it had reached agreements with some pharmacies to help distribute Tamiflu and Relenza, two medications used to treat H1N1 flu symptoms.
Flu-prevention kits are being distributed to Mississippi college students. The Mississippi Department of Health will provide nearly 2,500 bags filled with individual hand sanitizer, pocket pack tissues and other items over the next two weeks to students at the state's eight universities. It's part of an effort to stop the spread of swine flu.
The crowd was described as "calm and steady" at the health department in Gulfport Monday morning, as dozens of people showed up for the first swine flu shots administered by the state. Mississippi has received more than 200,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine. The first to be vaccinated are "at risk" individuals, including pregnant women and young children.
State health officials are asking for patience as Mississippi prepares to pass out its first batch of H1N1 or Swine Flu vaccine. Dr. Bob Travnicek of the State Health Department said the vaccine will be available, starting Monday, at all clinics in the six southernmost counties. It's free and no appointment is needed.
The Mississippi State Department of Health has announced the swine flu vaccine will be available at all county health department clinics beginning Monday.
South Mississippi residents lined up for swine flu vaccines Monday, the first day WLOX knows of that it has been available on the coast. The vaccine's arrival comes just two days after President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency.
A spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Health says the state has received 60,000 dosages of injectable swine flu vaccine. Liz Sharlot says the state has another 69,000 dosages of the nasal spray.
Underscoring the threat that the H1N1 virus poses to children, the CDC announced that 76 children have died from the disease since April, including 19 in the past week.
Many mothers are leery of the seasonal flu or H1N1 swine flu vaccine for their children despite public health officials reccomendation that all kids receive both shots.
Eight Mississippians have now died from the H1N1 Swine Flu. The Mississippi Department of Health on Tuesday reported that a Jones County woman died from the virus. The state now has about 10,000 doses of the swine flu nasal mist vaccine, but it's not being distributed just yet.
From schools to small businesses, the federal government is asking everyone to be on guard for swine flu. The Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, announced a plan to help small businesses get prepared. Krystal Allan reports on how an Ocean Springs business is working to stay ahead of the virus.
With a surge of Swine Flu cases in schools, nurses offices are swamped with young patients. Health experts say school-age kids are mostly likely to catch the swine flu and suffer complications from it. School nurses can expect to be even busier when the newly-approved swine flu vaccine goes out to schools next month. Trang Pham-Bui shows us what nurses are doing to prepare for the shots.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the new swine flu vaccine Tuesday, a long-anticipated step as the government works to get vaccinations under way next month.
The Institutions of Higher Learning has become more proactive in preventing Swine flu on Mississippi college campuses. The web site gives students and faculty up to date information about swine flu and other viruses.
State health officials are reporting a third swine flu death in Mississippi. The latest swine flu death was in Washington County - the first outside the Gulf Coast.
The height of this year's fall H1N1 swine flu outbreak is expected in October, but a planned vaccine may arrive too late to stop it, a new study suggests.
The Centers for Disease Control released new guidelines for daycare and early childhood programs on how to protect children from the Swine Flu. WLOX called about a dozen local daycare centers, and a couple of them did have one or two cases of the H1N1 virus. However, most report no cases at all or just the seasonal flu. Trang Pham-Bui tells us, daycare centers are stepping up efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.
With students living in dorms on the Perkinston campus, MGCCC officials are taking extra measures to prevent a swine flu outbreak there. Elise Roberts reports.
Despite persistent public concern that H1N1 vaccines being tested might have unforeseen side effects, experts reiterated Thursday that so far, at least, the shots seem safe.
Nearly 500 Americans have died of complications from the H1N1 swine flu since the virus first surfaced last spring, including at least 36 children younger than 18, a new government report shows.
Because people can catch the new H1N1 swine flu by inhaling the virus, health-care workers who deal with flu patients should wear properly fitted N95 disposable respirator masks, a new report from the Institute of Medicine advises.
Interim State Superintendent of Education Dr. John W. Jordan has a message for parents about the flu: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and they key to prevention is preparation.
Concern is mounting for parents whose children attend Hancock Middle School after one of their classmates died from swine flu. Heidi Ann Peterson, 13, died at her home last Thursday. Results from an autopsy and several tests released Monday confirmed that Heidi Ann died from the H1-N1 virus. The school district has been taking all precautions to ensure the safety of students and teachers. But as Al Showers found, many parents remain worried.
With so much attention focused on the Swine Flu this year, more people are taking precautions to protect themselves. Demand is high for the flu vaccine. This week, several businesses are offering flu shots. The shots are for the seasonal flu, not the H1N1 virus. As Trang Pham-Bui reports, state health officials say to be fully protected this year, it's best to get both vaccinations.
Swine Flu has been confirmed as the cause of death for a Hancock Middle School student. Heidi Ann Peterson, a 13-year-old girl from the Kiln, died last Thursday.
Parents can now find out if their child's school district has any flu cases, and if so, how many. The state Department of Education is sending out notices to superintendents, asking them to report the number of known flu cases in their school district. Since school started, the department has received numerous reports of the flu in schools across the state. Trang Pham-Bui has the latest on concerns over the Swine Flu.
Poplarville schools are dealing with an outbreak of the flu. School Superintendent Carl Merritt told WLOX News this outbreak is Type-A flu, and despite the illnesses, all schools remain open in Poplarville.
A Jackson County child has become the first Mississippian to fall victim to swine flu. Sources say the child passed away at a South Alabama hospital in late July, and test results confirmed Thursday the killer was swine flu. Jackson County reporter Sylvia Hall spoke to local health officials about their reaction to the news.
A Jackson County child has died from complications related to the H1N1 virus, becoming Mississippi's first swine flu fatality.
Even if you haven’t caught the virus, it’s everywhere you turn. H1N1 is daily headline news. But before you hit the panic button, read this.
The H1N1 virus that's sweeping across the United States isn't a total stranger to your immune system, a new study shows -- a finding that should ease the most drastic worries about the lethality of the pandemic.
