Obama administration braces for swine flu outbreak in fall

While there may be a brief calm in the storm at present, Obama administration officials are predicting that the swine flu will hit hard during the upcoming flu season this fall. Officials are preparing a broad swine flu vaccination program and pondering whether all Americans should get an anti-swine-flu jab.

To date, HHS has not decided whether all Americans should be given the chance to get a flu shot, according to secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The agency won't make a decision until studies on experimental swine flu vaccine batches are complete and officials have a sense of whether the treatment is safe. HHS leaders also want to know whether people will need one or two doses of the vaccine.

However, it is likely that federal officials will begin vaccinating children at schools starting this October, along with young adults with conditions that raise the risk of problems, pregnant women and health workers, as the swine flu seems more dangerous to these groups than older people.

Sebelius has announced $350 million in grants to help states prepare for another swine flu surge, partly to help hospitals cope with both the sick and the worried well.

To learn more about these plans:
- read this Associated Press piece

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