PENNDEMIC

In our BE recitation this week (which is a small group that meets weekly with a TA to discuss the lectures), we discussed H1N1, or more specifically, who, if anyone, should receive a vaccine. The general consensus was that pregnant women should be the first to receive the vaccines, in light of the fact that the CDC announced that pregnant women are the most susceptible population group to H1N1. Although they make up roughly 1% of the US population, they also make up 6% of those who have been killed by H1N1. Combine this with the fact that their death will result in a -2 net loss in the population of the future (a debatable matter, one similar to many abortion arguments), and the room readily agreed that they should be the ones to receive vaccines, should there be a limited supply (as Dr. Bogen's hypothetical situation proposed).

I personally would like a vaccine for purely selfish reasons (I don't want to get sick and fall behind in school), but if the number were limited then I would have to let other people in at risk population groups receive the shot.

I think the most effective way to mitigate the Penndemic (we're such witty bioengineers) would be to make H1N1 vaccines readily and cheaply available to all Penn faculty and students who wish to receive them. In addition, I think the hand sanitizing stations posted around campus are a great idea; I take advantage of them almost every time I pass. On a national level, perhaps technology could be developed that tracked H1N1's progression (I'm sure this already exists in some form). Data could be collected from a variety of sources: hospital, university, and school reports, tweets involving "H1N1" and "Swine Flu," and sales of flu-related medicines, for example. By tracking how many people have H1N1 and in which cities and areas they live, we could perhaps predict where the next outbreak will occur, and prepare appropriately (by shipping extra vaccines and supplies to such places). Once again, I'm sure this already exists, but by varying the sources of the information, we could get a truer picture of how the disease is spreading.