Your article says to stock up on prescription meds. Are they talking about Tamaflu? How would I get that without a doctor’s prescription?
You can’t get Tamiflu without a doctor’s prescription .
It is really hard to get Tamiflu know :((
Australia:
Doctors brace as flus run rampant
TORY SHEPHERD
July 01, 2009 12:01am
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25715307-2682,00.html
DOCTORS are preparing for a killer winter season as the common flu strikes early and swine flu cases increase.
SA Health has confirmed about 700 cases of common or seasonal flu, compared with a total of about 450 for the whole of last year, and about 360 cases of swine flu.
The dramatic increase in seasonal flu notifications is partly due to more people being tested because of swine flu fear, and also because influenza only became an officially notifiable disease in May last year.
However, it is likely the actual numbers are much higher, because many cases go unreported.
Australian Medical Association state president Dr Andrew Lavender said that having two flu viruses in circulation would put increased pressure on doctors.
He said people could catch both viruses in a season – sometimes at the same time.
“While we have a good immunisation program to protect some people from seasonal flu, we have no protection from swine flu,” he said.
Nationally, there are about 300,000 general practitioner visits, 18,000 hospital admissions and 2500 deaths from seasonal influenza each year. The season usually peaks in August or September.
Dr Lavender said GPs were “coping” at the moment, but that waiting times would “blow out” as the season peaked.
SA Health chief medical officer Professor Paddy Phillips said most people who died or were hospitalised had complicating illnesses, and that normal precautions to stop the flu spreading should be followed.
He said it was not too late to get a flu vaccination to ward off seasonal flu. Professor Phillips said it was possible the flu season would be worse than usual this year because it appeared to have started earlier.
However, it could also just appear to be starting earlier because more testing was being done, he said.
Adelaide Northern Division of General Practice chief executive officer Barbara Magin said waiting times to see a doctor normally increased to two or three weeks in winter, and that it would be even worse this year.
“Times have already blown out for GP practices, and the numbers are increasing on a daily basis,” she said.