Harford County and the flu

[undergroundpanther]

I went to CVS. Out in Churchville. At 3 am. Monday after Easter,I know the people who work there, including the pharmacist.They told me something rather disturbing.

They said all week parents have been bringing in their sick kids.They have the flu that is very bad that sends some kids to the emergency room with pneumonia .I was told this CVS is one of very few places around this area that sells tamiflu. Apparently Tamiflu has sold out elsewhere or the other pharmacies can't get it in..Tamiflu is what kills this particular kind of flu hitting the young people of Harford County right now.People are being charged like a hundred and fifty bucks a pop for a course of tamiflu.The Pharmacists was upset about parents with very sick kids who couldn't pay.She was pretty choked up.I felt bad too.

What I am wondering among other things..
Why are so few pharmacies carrying tamiflu around here?
Especially with a military base so close by(bird flu is in Iraq and soldiers coming back may carry it,soldiers in perry point etc.) and wetlands with birds galore?

Why are kids that even had flu shots, apparently catching this bug in such significant numbers? (shocking numbers is the word the pharmacist used)

Why so many kids getting sick that the emergency rooms are overwhelmed and CVS is swamped with people coming in a constant stream,some driving from all over to get to CVS one of the few places specifically, for the tamiflu?
Isn't there any other drug that can help? Why not?

Why I am asking is..I have heard about this flu situation 4 times in 4 different places,from 4 different people while I have been out around Harford county during a two day period recently.Monday and Tuesday. I usually don't hear such talk about all these sick people..as casual chit chat at a checkout counter or as I get stuff at the grocery or stop by 7-11..or CVS.Usually when flu comes up as chit chat it's someone talking about them-self or their kids getting it or getting over it.It's not this sweeping commentary about how many people they know or how so many people around them are catching it and are sick.What I am saying is the conversation is very flu oriented lately. Why?

Does anyone else know anything about this flu situation going down in Harford county?
Is it alot of nothing? Or is it just the pharmacists perception being skewed because she works at CVS?

Does anyone know about similar outbreaks in other places?

[LiberalEsto]

1. Haven't heard anything in MoCo

but I don't have school-age kids any more.

However, the oak trees started blooming about a week ago, and their pollen makes a lot of people ill, without realizing that it's allergies and not a cold or flu. I always got really sick at the same time each year until I got tested for allergies and started taking asthma meds. I looked at my old school report cards and found that I was always absent for about a week, the same week every year.

Tree pollen can cause runny noses, sore throats, coughs, sinus pain, red eyes, fatigue, headaches and even diarrhea because the pollen irritates the digestive tract in some people - it happens to me. So, quite honestly, I suspect some of these kids may be suffering from bad allergies that mimic the flu. And my allergist told me Maryland is a state with a lot of different pollens and other allergens.

[AuntiBush]

2. Read a Mere Mention of this in the Aegis-Sun Addition

few weeks back and if I recall correctly it said it was, not maybe mind you, but was expected to hit Harford County before June. It was bizarre.

All I can tell you is that people are watching the skies and don't like what they see, questioning what the hey is going on up there.

A reliable source tells me Tamiflu is not the answer. Can't say anymore other then that is what was related to me from creditable site. Have no idea - no expert.

[Polecat]

3. I'm north of you

I haven't seen or heard of anyone with the flu up north. I've never looked for tamiflu.