TALLAHASSEE, FL --The state is considering a plan to vaccinate thousands, or possibly millions, of Floridians against the swine flu virus.
Florida has 941 confirmed cases of swine flu and two deaths from the illness.
The deaths include a 9 year old boy and a 30 year old woman. Both victims were suffering from other illnesses at the time of their deaths.
Despite the growing number of cases, Florida’s Surgeon General Dr. Ana Viamonte Ros says swine flu hasn’t been a major problem in the state, but she’s not taking any chances.
“The disease continues to be mild in its severity in the majority of the cases," Dr. Viamonte Ros says. "At the national level we are looking at what’s happening in the rest of the states as well as what’s happening internationally and getting ready for a max vaccination campaign in the fall or winter. It still hasn’t been determined exactly how that will proceed, but we are working very closely with our partners on the national level.”
If the state moves forward with a mass vaccination plan, schools could be used as health clinics to administer the shots.
Nationwide more than a million people have contracted the disease and 127 people have died from swine flu.
The seasonal flu kills an estimated 36-thousand people every year.
Information from: Capitol News Service
