About.com

China lifts ban on foreigners with HIV/AIDS

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:06:42 +0000

For the last decade China has maintained a ban on people with HIV/AIDS from entering the country. But the country has revoked the ban after receiving criticism following the barring of an Australian writer who declared he was HIV-positive.

...

Read Full Post

20 Percent of Americans Received H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:26:54 +0000

By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger

After all that uproar when the vaccine wasn't getting here quickly enough and all that persuasion and urging once it was here, the numbers of people vaccinated against H1N1 in the U.S. should be pretty high. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a report that tells us the estimated number of American citizens who were vaccinated.

...

Read Full Post

Possible Post-H1N1 Pandemic Fallout

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:53:18 +0000

By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger

A Reuters article says that the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) is warning that the fact that new cases of H1N1 swine flu are lessening could mean that other flu viruses will start showing up.

...

Read Full Post

H1N1 Swine Flu Herd Immunity?

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 10:28:36 +0000

By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger

It looks like some regions are becoming immune to widespread outbreaks of H1N1 swine flu, as they have developed immunity from previous waves of exposure.

...

Read Full Post

US H1N1 Swine Flu Response in Hindsight

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:16:23 +0000

By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger

During the H1N1 peak epidemic months of October and November, it seemed like lots of people had lots to complain about in terms of the response to the epidemic. However, listening closely (as I did until I got tired of it), the kvetching kind of came down to a couple of things that weren't really even problems - just poor communication or inconveniences.

...

Read Full Post

Closing Schools to Stop the Flu

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:40:23 +0000

By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger

Remember in April and May when it seemed like every other school was closing down temporarily to try to stop H1N1 swine flu? I wondered at the time if that was doing any good to slow down the number of students that became infected. Well, a recent study seems to have answered my question...

...

Read Full Post

Flu Information in Many Languages

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 13:02:56 +0000

By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger

Do you know someone for whom English is a second language (or doesn't speak English at all)? Then direct their attention to this page from the CDC that presents information about the flu (seasonal and H1N1 swine flu) in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Russian, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

There are information sheets that cover topics for specific populations, such as pregnant women and people with certain conditions, such as asthma and diabetes. There are sheets about symptoms and warning signs, as well as information about how to stay healthy at work and about vaccines.

Think about how confused many of us have been at times during this epidemic, even though the news (and the gossip) that we were listening to was in our own language. Now, imagine if you were trying to figure out what was going on in a language that wasn't your native tongue.

Do someone a favor and send them a link to this page so that they can get the plain facts in their own language and make decisions for themselves.

Diabetes and the Flu (Seasonal and H1N1)

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:38:04 +0000

By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger

If you have diabetes, you have probably been advised by your physician to get vaccinated for both H1N1 (Swine flu) and the seasonal flu. Ask about it if you haven't already.

...

Read Full Post

Q. I'm 65 years old. Why can't I get the Swine flu (H1N1) vaccine?

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:50:24 +0000

By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger

A. The good news is that now you probably can.

There were a couple of reasons that people age 65 and older were unable to get the H1N1 vaccine for several months.

...

Read Full Post

Swine Flu (H1N1) Vaccine Recall Reassurance

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:11:18 +0000

By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger

Usually the word "recall" means that something has injured or sickened many people, prompting manufacturers to get it all off the shelves.

Fortunately, the recall of 800,000 doses of pediatric swine flu (H1N1) vaccine has absolutely nothing to do with safety. I'll repeat that: The H1N1 vaccine that was recalled is SAFE!

...

Read Full Post