Day: September 16, 2009

Several recent studies have concluded that the novel H1N1 flu virus might be more contagious and contagious longer than was anticipated. Currently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advice is to stay home for two days after fever symptoms subside, but researchers have found that the virus may still be in the nostrils of a infected person for a week or more and as long as 16 days after symptoms have abated.

The studies did show that people tend to shed high quantities of virus two days before they show symptoms and for two days after the symptoms abate. Unfortunately, the studies were inconclusive about how much virus is required to infect a person. So although a person might still have virus present a week after her last fever, she might not be shedding sufficient virus to infect others. However, researchers noted that for full precaution, infected persons should stay isolated until two days after they stop coughing.

It would appear the medical folks have resigned themselves to the fact that there is just no containing the virus at this point:

It is unclear whether the new research will lead the CDC to rethink its advice on how long people with swine flu should hole up. Long breaks from school and work do not seem worth it for a virus that now seems to cause mostly mild illness, said the CDC’s flu chief, Nancy Cox. Swine flu is spreading so widely now that confining the sick does less good, she said.

“We tried to have our guidance balance out all of these factors,” she said. “It’s just virtually impossible not to have virus introduced into settings such as schools and universities.”

Just try not to get it before the vaccine arrives in a month. Yeah, good luck with that ….

The numbers in this article are absolutely astounding. It now costs more for family health insurance than it does to rent an average two-bedroom apartment? You’re making my head hurt. But that’s not a pre-existing condition, I swear! Please don’t take away my coverage.

The average cost of job-based family health insurance climbed 5 percent to $13,375 in 2009, making this the 10th straight year that health care premiums have increased faster than workers’ wages and overall inflation have.

Insurance costs have increased 131 percent since 1999, when a year of family coverage cost about $5,791, according to the 2009 Employer Health Benefits Survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust.

That supercharged growth rate far outpaces the 38 percent increase in wages and 28 percent growth of inflation over the same period.

The article goes on to quote a small business owner who’s been changing insurance companies in a vain attempt to stay ahead of premium increases but who opposes the government getting involved. Oy vay!

“It ain’t the government’s business,” Goodwin said. “They don’t need to be running a car company, and they sure don’t need to be running health care.”

If there’s a way to keep costs down without the government getting involved, however, Goodwin said he’s all for it.

There “ain’t” no way to do that, Goodwin. Just get over it and let’s make some progress here.