BALTIMORE — With a swine flu outbreak spreading across the nation, more than half the states have yet to stockpile the number of flu-treatment doses recommended by the federal government, an Associated Press survey found.
States that are falling short cite budget constraints, or say it’s better to spend health care funds on preventing the spread of disease than on antiviral medicines that may or may not work on a particular flu strain.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that each state have enough medicine on hand to treat 25 percent of its population. But a survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia found that 29 were below that threshold.
Despite the survey results, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said no state is expected to experience shortages because the federal government is racing to fill states’ stockpiles with millions of additional doses from its own strategic reserves.
The swine flu strain that began appearing in Mexico and has spread to 19 states across the U.S. is treatable — not preventable — using Tamiflu and Relenza, each of which has a shelf life of about five years.
by the associated press
States that are falling short cite budget constraints, or say it’s better to spend health care funds on preventing the spread of disease than on antiviral medicines that may or may not work on a particular flu strain.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that each state have enough medicine on hand to treat 25 percent of its population. But a survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia found that 29 were below that threshold.
Despite the survey results, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said no state is expected to experience shortages because the federal government is racing to fill states’ stockpiles with millions of additional doses from its own strategic reserves.
The swine flu strain that began appearing in Mexico and has spread to 19 states across the U.S. is treatable — not preventable — using Tamiflu and Relenza, each of which has a shelf life of about five years.
by the associated press
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