Medicare Solutions Blog » H1N1 virus http://www.medicaresolutions.com/blog Stay Informed with the Latest in Medicare News Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:49:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Only 1% of flu victims are 65 or older http://www.medicaresolutions.com/blog/index.php/2009/05/only-1-of-flu-victims-are-65-or-older/ http://www.medicaresolutions.com/blog/index.php/2009/05/only-1-of-flu-victims-are-65-or-older/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 15:14:52 +0000 Annie Finneran http://www.medicaresolutions.com/blog/?p=134 According to a study done by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), only 1% of flu victims are aged 65 or older. More than 64% of the infections are among people between the ages of 5 and 24. The reason for this assumption is these individuals are more likely than younger individuals, including children, to have had some sort of contact with a similar virus in the past.

“Adults might have some degree of pre-existing antibodies to the H1N1 virus, especially older adults over 60 or 65,” states Anne Schuchat, interim deputy director for science and public health programs at CDC.

While health officials are concerned about the delay in the production of a vaccine against the swine flu, Schuchat explains that the outbreak is “far from over” and still continues to circulate in the U.S. The U.S.’s confirmed cases have risen to approximately 5,764 and the world’s cases have reached 11,000 with approximately 85 deaths.

Schuchat also adds that there are “many steps involved, and it will still be several months before a vaccine against this new virus will be available.”

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