State health officials say swine flu activity is still widespread, but there’s now more vaccine to go around.
Swine flu cases may be leveling off a bit, but state health officials are warning that the H1N1 virus is still very widespread in California.
State epidemiologist Gil Chavez said though swine flu cases are declining a smidge, it’s still a very significant illness. He said the numbers from last week alone prove that:
“So if you think, In California in one week you have 800 people who are sick enough to be in the hospital because of H1N1, there are thousands and thousands of others that are also experiencing H1N1 to a different level of severity,” Chavez said.
He says since the spring, more than 7,000 Californians have been hospitalized because of H1N1and 366 people died. And this week officials reported a third California inmate death from the virus. Chavez said the best weapon against the flu is the vaccine –He said state received more than seven million doses of vaccine this week so it should soon be more available than it has been.
