U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged U.S. support in the global fight on terrorism Saturday, as she met with victims of last year's terror attacks in India's commercial city, Mumbai.Clinton also said the United States is not pressuring India to improve relations with Pakistan. She said it is up to the two sides to determine how to go forward with peace talks.The U.S. secretary of state spoke to reporters in Mumbai, where Indian officials believe terrorists linked to Pakistan killed 166 people during an attack in November.Secretary Clinton indicated that Pakistan has done much more in recent months to deal with home-grown terrorism, and she suggested action may soon be taken to bring those responsible for the Mumbai attacks to justice.Clinton is on her first trip to India as secretary of state, and is expected to push for deeper ties with the emerging economy during her three-day visit.
Even as Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has been asked by the Ministry of External Affairs to refrain from using social networking rage Twitter from office on security grounds, the US embassy has announced that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's first visit to India will also be covered by the online media community. The visit will be covered on social networking and photo-sharing sites such as Twitter, Flickr and Facebook. The Americagov Twitter feed ... will be following the secretary every step of the way during her activities in Mumbai and New Delhi. Clinton's fans and participants at all of her India events will be using the Twitter hash tag address #HillaryIndia to follow and comment on the issues addressed during her visit. They will also be posting both professional and cellphone photos on Flickr using the same tag, #HillaryIndia, notes the US embassy press statement.
The visit will be covered on social networking and photo-sharing sites such as Twitter, Flickr and Facebook. The Americagov Twitter feed ... will be following the secretary every step of the way during her activities in Mumbai and New Delhi.
Clinton's fans and participants at all of her India events will be using the Twitter hash tag address #HillaryIndia to follow and comment on the issues addressed during her visit. They will also be posting both professional and cellphone photos on Flickr using the same tag, #HillaryIndia, notes the US embassy press statement.
Rank celebrity politicians
Tharoor, for instance, has a little over 17,000 followers. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who tweets in Gujarati, has 1,700 followers, while the Americagov has around 2,000 followers. However, use of Twitter by Indian politicians pales in comparison with that of US and UK politicians. Barrack Obama, for instance, ranks seventh by Twit Rank of Twittown (a list of the top 150 twitterers) with around 1.7 million followers. Al Gore, with around 1.2 million followers, is ranked 19th. Besides, young Indian politicians such as Sachin Pilot or Jyotiraditya Scindia are not to be found on Twitter. Rahul Gandhi too is said to have had an account (@rgamethi) but the page is empty currently. The last update was on April 28 with around 2,220 followers.
However, use of Twitter by Indian politicians pales in comparison with that of US and UK politicians. Barrack Obama, for instance, ranks seventh by Twit Rank of Twittown (a list of the top 150 twitterers) with around 1.7 million followers. Al Gore, with around 1.2 million followers, is ranked 19th.
Besides, young Indian politicians such as Sachin Pilot or Jyotiraditya Scindia are not to be found on Twitter. Rahul Gandhi too is said to have had an account (@rgamethi) but the page is empty currently. The last update was on April 28 with around 2,220 followers.
Two French security advisers seized in Somalia will be tried under Sharia law, an official from their captors, the Islamic al-Shabab militia, says.The unnamed spokesman said they would be tried for spying and "conspiracy against Islam". The two, who were training government troops, were kidnapped by gunmen in a Mogadishu hotel on Tuesday and later handed over to al-Shabab insurgents. Al-Shabab and its allies control much of southern Somalia. The al-Shabab official said no date had been set for the trial of the two men.
Two French security advisers seized in Somalia will be tried under Sharia law, an official from their captors, the Islamic al-Shabab militia, says.
The unnamed spokesman said they would be tried for spying and "conspiracy against Islam".
The two, who were training government troops, were kidnapped by gunmen in a Mogadishu hotel on Tuesday and later handed over to al-Shabab insurgents.
Al-Shabab and its allies control much of southern Somalia.
The al-Shabab official said no date had been set for the trial of the two men.
[I]t is more complex than simply African draconian nationalist governments springing up one after another, unshaped by history or foreign influence. For too long Africa has been portrayed as the 'black hole of war and corruption' and Barack Obama in both his interview and speech*, continued to construct that image without critically exploring just how African wars and dictatorships are made.... If Obama had paused in his speech, he might have remembered meeting Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, invited as the non-member Africa representative at the G20 summit in April 2009 in London. Or he might have looked down from his pulpit to see that sitting right there opposite him Ghana's former head of state Jerry Rawlings, a man who fiercely held onto power, with the support of the World Bank for as long as promises to transform Ghana into a democracy and free market economy were maintained. Or, seeing as Zimbabwe was his choice example in these words: 'The West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants.' The position of the West in relation to Zimbabwe is an extremely complex one. While on the one hand Western condemnation of Robert Mugabe only came in 2000 when the farm invasions began, all the while America gave financial support to the totalitarian state Zimbabwe had slowly become. On the other hand post-2000, US and EU sanctions against Zimbabwe have negatively affected the economy and have been part of the reason why Zimbabwe is in economic ruin, though the larger part of the blame lies with Mugabe's damaging fiscal and repressive social policies.
If Obama had paused in his speech, he might have remembered meeting Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, invited as the non-member Africa representative at the G20 summit in April 2009 in London. Or he might have looked down from his pulpit to see that sitting right there opposite him Ghana's former head of state Jerry Rawlings, a man who fiercely held onto power, with the support of the World Bank for as long as promises to transform Ghana into a democracy and free market economy were maintained. Or, seeing as Zimbabwe was his choice example in these words: 'The West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants.'
The position of the West in relation to Zimbabwe is an extremely complex one. While on the one hand Western condemnation of Robert Mugabe only came in 2000 when the farm invasions began, all the while America gave financial support to the totalitarian state Zimbabwe had slowly become. On the other hand post-2000, US and EU sanctions against Zimbabwe have negatively affected the economy and have been part of the reason why Zimbabwe is in economic ruin, though the larger part of the blame lies with Mugabe's damaging fiscal and repressive social policies.
G8 and Africa | Pambazuka News | 16 July 2009
At one of these `breakfast meetings' the G8 broadened their participants to take in the African countries of Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa, as well as the IEA, World Bank, IMF, ILO, OECD, WTO and United Nations and the African Union Commission's representatives. At this meeting the G8 graciously agreed to increase aid to Africa for food security and agricultural development from an earlier figure of US$15 billion to US$20 billion. A summary judgement of the G8 Summit (the first for President Barack Obama) must be that against the multiple crises the world is currently facing, the outcome of the discussions was a whimper, a puny response to an acknowledgement of the magnitude of the challenge. It is not surprising, then, that the world media largely hyped up the promise of US$20 billion L'Aquila Initiative on Global Food Safety for Africa (PDF 239.5kb), for there was very little else that was on show.... the US$20 billion package is for three years; about US$7 billion per year. This is to be shared between 53 African countries, an average of about US$132 million per country. Compare this with the following: Between 1990 and 2003, African countries had received US$540 billion in loans and had paid back US$580 billion in debt and service charges (US$40 billion more than what they had received), and yet by the end of 2003 US$330 billion debt had still remained to pay. In 2003 alone African countries had paid over US$25 billion in debt servicing while 2.3 million lives were lost lives because of HIV/AIDS. Many of them spent more per capita on debt servicing than on health care. For example, in 2002 the Democratic Republic of Congo - where 1.1 million people live with HIV/AIDS - spent more than four dollars on external debt servicing for every dollar spent on health care. And in the same year Angola had paid out US$106 per capita in debt servicing compared to US$38 per capita on health. Compare this also with the `promise' made by G8 at the 31st G8 Summit of July 2005 at Gleneagles. The issue that got most media hype on that occasion was debt cancellation - to write off the entire US$40 billion debt owed by 18 Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) to the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank (ADB). Four years down the line, a more sober assessment exposes the scenario of `business as usual'. What are the facts about the much-touted debt cancellation and the `road to recovery' for Africa?
A summary judgement of the G8 Summit (the first for President Barack Obama) must be that against the multiple crises the world is currently facing, the outcome of the discussions was a whimper, a puny response to an acknowledgement of the magnitude of the challenge. It is not surprising, then, that the world media largely hyped up the promise of US$20 billion L'Aquila Initiative on Global Food Safety for Africa (PDF 239.5kb), for there was very little else that was on show....
the US$20 billion package is for three years; about US$7 billion per year. This is to be shared between 53 African countries, an average of about US$132 million per country.
Compare this with the following:
------ "We must start from the simple premise that Africa's future is up to Africans." Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
[A]ll these innovative programs and expanded opportunities will not, in and of themselves, make a difference if each of us, as parents and as community leaders, fail to do our part by encouraging excellence in our children. (Applause.) Government programs alone won't get our children to the Promised Land. We need a new mind set, a new set of attitudes -- because one of the most durable and destructive legacies of discrimination is the way we've internalized a sense of limitation; how so many in our community have come to expect so little from the world and from themselves.... And by the way, it means we need to be there for our neighbor's sons and daughters. (Applause.) We need to go back to the time, back to the day when we parents saw somebody, saw some kid fooling around and -- it wasn't your child, but they'll whup you anyway. (Laughter and applause.) Or at least they'll tell your parents -- the parents will. You know. (Laughter.) That's the meaning of community. That's how we can reclaim the strength and the determination and the hopefulness that helped us come so far; helped us make a way out of no way.... And that's what the NAACP is all about. The NAACP was not founded in search of a handout. The NAACP was not founded in search of favors. The NAACP was founded on a firm notion of justice; to cash the promissory note of America that says all of our children, all God's children, deserve a fair chance in the race of life. (Applause.) [emphasis added]
And by the way, it means we need to be there for our neighbor's sons and daughters. (Applause.) We need to go back to the time, back to the day when we parents saw somebody, saw some kid fooling around and -- it wasn't your child, but they'll whup you anyway. (Laughter and applause.) Or at least they'll tell your parents -- the parents will. You know. (Laughter.) That's the meaning of community. That's how we can reclaim the strength and the determination and the hopefulness that helped us come so far; helped us make a way out of no way....
And that's what the NAACP is all about. The NAACP was not founded in search of a handout. The NAACP was not founded in search of favors. The NAACP was founded on a firm notion of justice; to cash the promissory note of America that says all of our children, all God's children, deserve a fair chance in the race of life. (Applause.)
[emphasis added]
Gifted orator. A regula Edward Everett of our times. Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
WASHINGTON, Jul 18 (IPS) - The U.S. should proceed cautiously in its engagement strategy with Iran, while moving quickly toward final-status negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, according to a new report by a team of veteran diplomats and Middle East policymakers.The policy paper, released Wednesday by the Israel Policy Forum (IPF), an organisation that promotes U.S. diplomatic engagement in the Middle East, expresses support for President Barack Obama's ambitious Middle East strategy. Entitled "After Cairo and Iran: Next Steps for U.S. Diplomacy in the Middle East", it recommends continuing attempts to engage Iran, but shifting primarily to back-channel rather than public talks in response to the recent political turmoil following June's disputed presidential elections. The report also advocates accelerating the 2002 "road map" for Israeli-Palestinian peace by convening an international conference that would set the stage for final-status negotiations, sponsoring unofficial "Track Two" talks between Israel and the Arab states, and pursuing an Israeli-Syrian agreement at the same time as an Israeli-Palestinian one. The IPF policy paper was produced by a task force of 15 veteran Middle East hands, including Samuel Lewis and Edward Walker, both former U.S. ambassadors to Israel, former ambassador to Egypt Robert Pelletreau, and former American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) executive director Thomas Dine.
Shut out of power across the capital and facing a 60-vote Democratic majority in the Senate, Republican candidates are working to balance the scales in at least one vital category -- campaign cash. Reports filed last week with the Federal Election Commission showed GOP hopefuls in some key Senate contests posting strong fundraising totals for the second quarter of 2009, putting them in position to try to halt their party's recent losing streak. Even achieving rough parity in campaign cash would be something of a victory for the GOP, given that Democrats control both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. But that Democratic dominance may have motivated Republican donors to open their wallets. "Democrats are closer to a one-party monopoly in this town than they have been since Lyndon Johnson was president," said Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who is running to succeed retiring Sen. Christopher S. Bond (R-Mo.). That dynamic "helps in all aspects of the campaign," Blunt said, including fundraising.
Shut out of power across the capital and facing a 60-vote Democratic majority in the Senate, Republican candidates are working to balance the scales in at least one vital category -- campaign cash.
Reports filed last week with the Federal Election Commission showed GOP hopefuls in some key Senate contests posting strong fundraising totals for the second quarter of 2009, putting them in position to try to halt their party's recent losing streak.
Even achieving rough parity in campaign cash would be something of a victory for the GOP, given that Democrats control both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. But that Democratic dominance may have motivated Republican donors to open their wallets.
"Democrats are closer to a one-party monopoly in this town than they have been since Lyndon Johnson was president," said Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who is running to succeed retiring Sen. Christopher S. Bond (R-Mo.). That dynamic "helps in all aspects of the campaign," Blunt said, including fundraising.
A logistical complication persists in the joint peace mission of the United Nations and the African Union in Darfur: the 17,000 troops continue to have to manage in the remote Sudanese region without helicopter support. A year and a half ago the United Nations and the African Union deployed troops in Darfur to establish peace and protect the people in the troubled province in western Sudan. Since 2003, the ongoing tribal conflict has taken thousands of lives; according to some sources more than one hundred thousand people have now died in Darfur. Since its arrival, the UNAMID force has been waiting for twenty four helicopters. In an interview with Deutsche Welle after a recent visit to Khartoum, Susana Malcorra, head of the Department of Field Support at the UN in New York, blamed the high demand of helicopters resulting from the war against terror for the shortage elsewhere: "It seems like the need of helicopters has become a big ticket item in Afghanistan and Iraq", she said. "It's not only UNAMID that is short of helicopters. We are also behind in Chad and now we have a question for additional helicopters in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So it's an overall problem." Darfur "no priority" Lauren Gelfand, Africa editor with Jane's Defence Weekly in London, is nevertheless convinced that plenty of helicopters are available around the world. She says Africa is simply not a high enough priority for the UN member states that own them. "I think that there is a misconception about helicopters. They are assets of the individual countries. There is not a big pool of helicopters, like a lending library, where you can just get and keep them then for a couple of months for your operation." Susana Malcorra stresses that mobility is an essential issue in Darfur: "The helicopters," she says, "give us the possibility to move our forces at a speed that otherwise is not possible. This is critical for the mandate UNAMID has. I always hear the force commander saying: we ware deploying to meet the numbers, but it's not only quantity that matters, it's also quality, what we can do with our forces on the ground."
A year and a half ago the United Nations and the African Union deployed troops in Darfur to establish peace and protect the people in the troubled province in western Sudan. Since 2003, the ongoing tribal conflict has taken thousands of lives; according to some sources more than one hundred thousand people have now died in Darfur.
Since its arrival, the UNAMID force has been waiting for twenty four helicopters. In an interview with Deutsche Welle after a recent visit to Khartoum, Susana Malcorra, head of the Department of Field Support at the UN in New York, blamed the high demand of helicopters resulting from the war against terror for the shortage elsewhere: "It seems like the need of helicopters has become a big ticket item in Afghanistan and Iraq", she said. "It's not only UNAMID that is short of helicopters. We are also behind in Chad and now we have a question for additional helicopters in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So it's an overall problem."
Darfur "no priority"
Lauren Gelfand, Africa editor with Jane's Defence Weekly in London, is nevertheless convinced that plenty of helicopters are available around the world. She says Africa is simply not a high enough priority for the UN member states that own them. "I think that there is a misconception about helicopters. They are assets of the individual countries. There is not a big pool of helicopters, like a lending library, where you can just get and keep them then for a couple of months for your operation."
Susana Malcorra stresses that mobility is an essential issue in Darfur: "The helicopters," she says, "give us the possibility to move our forces at a speed that otherwise is not possible. This is critical for the mandate UNAMID has. I always hear the force commander saying: we ware deploying to meet the numbers, but it's not only quantity that matters, it's also quality, what we can do with our forces on the ground."
URUMQI, China -- As this shattered regional capital sorts through the corpses from China's deadliest civil unrest in decades, another loss has become apparent: faith in the government's ability to secure the peace and quell mass disturbances. In many neighborhoods, police officers remained absent for hours as the carnage unfolded, witnesses say. The bloodletting here on July 5, in which ethnic Uighurs pummeled and stabbed ethnic Han to death, was just the latest episode in a nationwide upswing in large-scale street violence that had already prompted concerned officials in Beijing to look for new ways to defuse such outbursts. In all of the recent cases, not only were officials and security forces unable to contain the violence, but average people clashed with the police en masse -- a sign of the profound distrust of local authority throughout much of China. "In the last several years, the level of violence and speed with which these incidents can turn violent has increased," said Murray Scot Tanner, an analyst of Chinese security. "It raises a very, very serious question: To what extent are the Chinese people afraid of their police anymore?"In parts of the Uighur quarter and in poorer, mixed areas of south Urumqi, young Uighur men with sticks, knives and stones went on a bloody rampage for about five hours while police officers remained mostly absent, according to interviews with dozens of residents. In some areas where police officers arrived but were outnumbered by rioters, the officers stood around or fled, witnesses said.
URUMQI, China -- As this shattered regional capital sorts through the corpses from China's deadliest civil unrest in decades, another loss has become apparent: faith in the government's ability to secure the peace and quell mass disturbances. In many neighborhoods, police officers remained absent for hours as the carnage unfolded, witnesses say.
The bloodletting here on July 5, in which ethnic Uighurs pummeled and stabbed ethnic Han to death, was just the latest episode in a nationwide upswing in large-scale street violence that had already prompted concerned officials in Beijing to look for new ways to defuse such outbursts. In all of the recent cases, not only were officials and security forces unable to contain the violence, but average people clashed with the police en masse -- a sign of the profound distrust of local authority throughout much of China.
"In the last several years, the level of violence and speed with which these incidents can turn violent has increased," said Murray Scot Tanner, an analyst of Chinese security. "It raises a very, very serious question: To what extent are the Chinese people afraid of their police anymore?"
In parts of the Uighur quarter and in poorer, mixed areas of south Urumqi, young Uighur men with sticks, knives and stones went on a bloody rampage for about five hours while police officers remained mostly absent, according to interviews with dozens of residents. In some areas where police officers arrived but were outnumbered by rioters, the officers stood around or fled, witnesses said.
SAN DIEGO -- They move north in rickety fishing boats, often overloaded and barely seaworthy, slipping through the darkness and hidden from the watchful radar of American patrols. Along beaches north of here, the migrants from Mexico and beyond scramble ashore, in groups of a dozen or two, and dash past stunned beachgoers, sometimes even leaving behind their boats, known as pangas. Drug smugglers, too, take this sea route, including one last month found paddling a surfboard north with a duffel bag full of marijuana on it.As the land border with Mexico tightens with new fencing and technology, the authorities are seeing a sharp spike in the number of people and drugs being moved into the United States by sea off the San Diego coast.Law enforcement authorities in the United States said the shift demonstrated the resolve of smugglers to exploit the vastness of the sea, the difficulty in monitoring it, and the desperation of migrants willing to risk crossing it. "It's like spillover from a dam," said Cmdr. Guy Pearce, who oversees the antismuggling effort for the Coast Guard in San Diego.
SAN DIEGO -- They move north in rickety fishing boats, often overloaded and barely seaworthy, slipping through the darkness and hidden from the watchful radar of American patrols.
Along beaches north of here, the migrants from Mexico and beyond scramble ashore, in groups of a dozen or two, and dash past stunned beachgoers, sometimes even leaving behind their boats, known as pangas. Drug smugglers, too, take this sea route, including one last month found paddling a surfboard north with a duffel bag full of marijuana on it.
As the land border with Mexico tightens with new fencing and technology, the authorities are seeing a sharp spike in the number of people and drugs being moved into the United States by sea off the San Diego coast.
Law enforcement authorities in the United States said the shift demonstrated the resolve of smugglers to exploit the vastness of the sea, the difficulty in monitoring it, and the desperation of migrants willing to risk crossing it.
"It's like spillover from a dam," said Cmdr. Guy Pearce, who oversees the antismuggling effort for the Coast Guard in San Diego.
The reform movement and its allies among pragmatic conservatives have developed a narrative about Khomeinist Iran. They allege that it is ultimately democratic, and that the will of the people is paramount. It is popular sovereignty that authorizes political change and greater political and cultural openness. Precisely because democracy and popular sovereignty are the key values for this movement, the alleged stealing of the June 12 presidential elections by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for his candidate, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is intolerable. A crime has been committed, in their eyes. A social contract has been violated. The will of the people has been thwarted.The hard liners hold a competing and incompatible view of the meaning of Khomeini's 1979 revolution. They discount the element of elections, democracy and popular sovereignty. They view these procedures and institutions as little more than window-dressing. True power and authority lies with the Supreme Leader and ultimately all important decisions are made by him. Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Misbah-Yazdi is an important exponent of this authoritarian view of the Islamic Republic. The Leader in this view is a kind of philosopher-king, who can overrule the people at will. The hard liners do not believe that the election was stolen. But they probably cannot get very excited about the election in the first place. Khamenei and his power and his appointments and his ability to intervene to disqualify candidates, close newspapers, and overrule parliament are what is important. From a hard line point of view, the election is what Khamenei says it is and therefore cannot be stolen.Rafsanjani desired in his sermon to lay a Khomeinist foundation for the more democratic view. He began by underlining his own role in the revolution and the establishment of the Republic, and his position as a witness to the values of Khomeini. He said Khomeini discouraged the anti-Shah activists of the 1960s and 1970s from terrorism. Instead, he urged a direct appeal to the people in their villages and mosques, and responsiveness to their desires. He represents Khomeini as saying, if the people are with us, we have everything.
he report states that the [breeding] farm has with biosecurity measures in place and its own restocking system [i.e. breeding]; a 4.5-hectares area. There are no other animal species in the farm. The distribution of the animals is as follows: 516 sows, seven hogs, 2,900 castrated pigs, 58 young sows and 2,105 sucking pigs. The report adds that between 7 and 9 June 2009, two workers of the farm showed flu signs but they did not consult a doctor nor made diagnostic tests. The farm has its own restocking system. The last entry of animals occurred in July 2008.
The report adds that between 7 and 9 June 2009, two workers of the farm showed flu signs but they did not consult a doctor nor made diagnostic tests. The farm has its own restocking system. The last entry of animals occurred in July 2008.
Argentina declares health emergency | Buenos Aires Herald | 20 July 2009
The flu strain has killed 137 people in the South American country during the Southern Hemisphere winter and the government has closed schools and urged Argentines to avoid crowded places to halt its spread. "The contingency plan ... allows for an increase in testing in pig farms and in slaughter houses in order to guarantee early detection," the government's Official Gazette said.... Earlier this month, SENASA officials said workers at a pig farm in Buenos Aires province were suspected of having passed the new strain onto the animals. That added weight to the theory that pigs can be infected by humans. Another pig herd later tested positive for the virus although Friday's statement only made mention of the first case.
"The contingency plan ... allows for an increase in testing in pig farms and in slaughter houses in order to guarantee early detection," the government's Official Gazette said....
Earlier this month, SENASA officials said workers at a pig farm in Buenos Aires province were suspected of having passed the new strain onto the animals. That added weight to the theory that pigs can be infected by humans. Another pig herd later tested positive for the virus although Friday's statement only made mention of the first case.
Argentina on Alert | France24 | 18 July 2009
Earlier, the World Health Organisation said it would stop providing regular updates on the number of people affected worldwide, as the virus continues its march. The WHO said in an information note on its website Friday that it would focus on regular updates from newly-affected countries, in order to keep track of the global progress of the A(H1N1) virus.
The WHO said in an information note on its website Friday that it would focus on regular updates from newly-affected countries, in order to keep track of the global progress of the A(H1N1) virus.
OIE (Organización Mundial de Sanidad Animal / World Organisation for Animal Health), Argentina Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
School children who have never had a flu shot may need to get vaccinated four times in the fall - twice for seasonal flu, twice for pandemic swine flu - officials at the CDC told health professionals on Wednesday. Most everyone else should expect three shots.... Wortley said the pandemic flu shots will be divided among states proportionally, based on their population. And state health officials will manage their delivery, most likely through large-scale school, work and retail-based clinics managed at the county level. Protection against the pandemic strain will require two doses, an initial shot plus a follow-up booster. Preservative-free shots will be available for children and pregnant women, about 20 percent of the lots manufactured, Wortley said. They will either come in single-dose injections or as Flu Mist, the live virus that is squirted into the nose. Adults will most likely get their shots from multi-dose vials which contain Thimerisol, including very low levels of mercury. It appears that health insurers will be willing to cover the new swine flu shots, Wortley said.
Wortley said the pandemic flu shots will be divided among states proportionally, based on their population. And state health officials will manage their delivery, most likely through large-scale school, work and retail-based clinics managed at the county level. Protection against the pandemic strain will require two doses, an initial shot plus a follow-up booster.
Preservative-free shots will be available for children and pregnant women, about 20 percent of the lots manufactured, Wortley said. They will either come in single-dose injections or as Flu Mist, the live virus that is squirted into the nose. Adults will most likely get their shots from multi-dose vials which contain Thimerisol, including very low levels of mercury.
It appears that health insurers will be willing to cover the new swine flu shots, Wortley said.
