The vast majority of kids in our area have not been vaccinated against the swine flu.
Health officials say they still believe the vaccine will become more widely available -- they're just not sure when. So for now, all parents can do is keep making sure everyone washes their hands, hope their kids don't catch the swine flu -- and educate themselves on how to tell if they do.
Tuesday night, Greater Baltimore Medical Center hosted a forum for parents and health care providers -- giving them insight on what to look for as they wait for more vaccine to become available.
Unless your child has other health problems, a normal cold probably won’t warrant a trip to the emergency room. However: ‘If you're having trouble breathing -- skin or nails or lips turning blue, confusion, irritibility in kids, severe chest pain, any kinds of symptoms like that you should certainly at least call your doctor,’ said Dr. Peter Beilenson, the Howard County Health Officer.
Also, many of the young people who have died after contracting the swine flu seemed to make a recovery first -- then pick up a much more serious infection days later. ‘If you have a child who's recovered from the flu, normally, and then gets sick again that's certainly a reason to call your physician,’ Dr. Beilenson said.
