By Melati Mohd Ariff
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 (Bernama) -- Her voice was tinged with sheer frustration as she spoke of her works advocating HIV and AIDS prevention programmes in her native state of Sarawak.
Her frustrations were not due to the workload but the extreme challenges she and her team from Sarawak Aids Concern Society (SACS) had to struggle against in carrying out their advocacy works.
One of the challenges, she said was to reach a significant proportion of the people still living in the rural and remote areas including places like Baram in Miri, Belaga and Kapit near Sibu and Limbang.
To prove her point, she had on the big screen the map of Sarawak to which she described as "sparsely populated with a huge land mass the size of West Malaysia minus Melaka."
LIMITATIONS
If trains and highways are the norms for transportations in West Malaysia, in the interior of Sarawak, rivers and their tributaries are the equivalent.
Tar sealed roads are a rarity in the interior and more often the roads are just loose stones or plain dirt roads, popularly known by the locals as timber tracks.
"These roads are subject to being damaged easily by weather and heavy use and as a result, often become dangerous and impassable," Rahmah Wahap-Nicholls, SACS's programme manager told participants of a roundtable discussion on HIV and AIDS held by the United Nations Theme Group on HIV in Kuala Lumpur recently.
According to this gutsy 57-year old retired nurse, even though river transport is the lifeline of the people living in the interior of Sarawak, it too has significant limitation.
She explained not only is the cost extremely high, at certain time of the year, the rivers can either be too low or dry at places and at the extreme end, it may swell with fast flowing rapids.
Still she said some parts of Sarawak are only accessible by air and the cost to get to some remote places can be higher than a return flight for a Kuala Lumpur-London trip.
SARAWAK HIV AND AIDS SCENARIO
Despite the relatively low accumulative figures of HIV and AIDS cases in Sarawak as compared to other states, Rahmah said the number is steadily rising year on year.
Up to 2009, she said the reported cumulative figures are slightly over 1,000.
"The worrying trend is that more and more housewives are getting infected. For the first six months of 2009, 57 per cent of new cases are housewives. As the main mode of transmission is heterosexual sex, focus on this group needs to be scaled up," she said, adding that the husbands of the infected women did not want to get themselves tested, saying that the virus is not from them.
Rahmah also pointed out her concern on HIV infection among the young population of Sarawak between the ages of 20 to 39 years.
The problem, she said, was not so much of injecting themselves with drugs but instead indulging in free sex.
Even students are prone to experimenting amongst themselves.
"Many students said they do not have other entertainment except to entertain each other. The teachers told us this even. We received many requests from schools right in the interior of Sarawak to implement HIV prevention programmes and it is not possible to reach these schools within a day or two.
"They asked us to give talks to their students and we cannot immediately response for the obvious reason, namely manpower and funds. By the time we got to the school, when the students are in form five or six, the teachers would tell us it is almost too late," said a frustrated Rahmah.
AFFECTING THE INTERIOR
Another thing that worrying Rahmah and her colleagues is that the deadly virus has even managed to find its way deep in the interior of the State.
HIV, she explained has not only affected those living in towns and cities where easy access to treatments and drugs are available but also in the interior rural areas where journey to the nearest district hospital may take a day or two by timber tracks and boats.
If the arduous journeys are in itself not an obstacle, she said, the cost of getting to the nearest hospital is. Many living in the interior are farmers and have irregular income.
According to Rahmah, for people in this kind of situation, the prospect of spending a large sum of money on transport to collect their medications is simply not an option, since this would mean spending the family's daily living expenses on cost of travel.
"We are talking about maybe around RM80 from one end of the river to another. Who wants to go there even if the service is free? Sadly this is often the scenario that we come across during our travels," she sighed.
POOR KNOWLEDGE
Based on SACS experiences whilst implementing its programmes throughout the state, particularly in the interior, Rahmah said knowledge and awareness of HIV and AIDS is generally very poor.
Misconceptions abound, she said, it was alarming to realise how truly lacking and inadequate previous attempts had been to educate the rural population on HIV and AIDS.
"After almost 30 years of this epidemic, some are still asking whether the virus is still around or it is killing people. There was also fear to get tested because if they know they are infected and they have to get the drugs, how are they going to assess it?
"Might as well they did not know or they just accept it after all they say they are going to die anyway? This is then one of our biggest challenges, to embark on spreading knowledge on HIV and AIDS and prevent transmission through sustainable programmes to the rural population of Sarawak.
"As one of the very few NGOs dedicating itself to fighting HIV and AIDS in Sarawak, SACS is facing other challenges. The current low figures of HIV and AIDS cases tend not to warrant attention," said Rahmah.
She expressed disappointment and dismal that HIV and AIDS is a low priority area and the recession inevitably has impacted funding.
"Whilst HIV and AIDS projects in many states in Peninsular Malaysia enjoy support from their state governments, we at SACS has yet to be the recipient of a similar privilege," she explained.
RISK FACTOR
Besides the challenge to obtain enough funds for SACS programmes, Rahmah also touched on yet a significant risk factor in the spread of HIV in Sarawak, namely the presence of a large migrant workforce in many parts of the state.
According to her, the mushrooming of plantations at a very fast rate in Sarawak has resulted in the state to be increasingly dependent on cheap foreign labour.
Sarawak's timber industries, she added also employ large numbers of workers from neigbouring country.
Rahmah said timber camps are located deep in the interior where access to the workforce is subject to agreement and cooperation from these companies.
"For instance, there are timber camps all around Belaga and Kapit and plantations in large areas in Miri. They are not accessible easily to members of the public. There are also timber camps that you are not even aware of their existence and the only way to get to those places is by timber tracks constructed by the companies in addition to journeys by air and boats," she explained.
SACS, according to her has had a measure of success in reaching the target group but this has not been without difficulties.
"Many companies are suspicious of the motives of NGOs operating in Sarawak and unfortunately for us, this has meant initially at least we have difficulty in getting permission to enter or do awareness programme in their premises,"she explained, adding that many of the workers at the timber camps came from Kalimantan and the number is massive.
NOT GIVING UP
Despite the uphill task she is facing, Rahmah is not giving up, clinging firm on the old adage "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going."
"I must be honest and admit that many a time when we are faced with the impossible, the human spirit does get a battering and it is the deep commitment to this cause that reminds us that doing nothing or turning away is not an option,"she told Bernama.
Besides her teammates from SACS, Rahmah also has the undivided support from her husband, Colin Khalid Nicholls and her three adult children. Colin, she said also provided technical support for SACS and looking after its website, www.sarawakaidsconcern.org
Rahmah's almost 26 years experience of working as a trained nurse in the UK where she met her husband who was also a trained nurse provided her with the much needed strength to persevere in her HIV and AIDS advocacy works.
During her sojourn in the UK, she has also spent some years as a volunteer counselor with a charity in Kent, supporting and counseling survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
The couple returned to Sarawak in mid 2006 following a self-imposed retirement and eventually got involved as volunteers in SACS through some mutual friends who had been volunteering with the Society, formed on May 19, 1998.
"It was only on deeper involvement with the SACS that I got to find out the enormity of the tasks ahead. The society was in need of direction, having spent the previous seven years only implementing ad hoc programmes in Kuching, leaving the rest of Sarawak uncovered.
"Laying the foundation of expansion becomes my priority in 2007. This was a very challenging period primarily due to extreme shortage of funds available for the society to start the enormous task ahead of us, " Rahmah told Bernama.
In 2008, Rahmah said she set herself a task of expanding SACS's services to other parts of Sarawak, namely to reach out to the indigenous people living in the interior.
"In parts we have managed to achieve this but the more meaningful consequences of that must be the increasing capacity of the society to do more work all over the state in the form of grassroots involvement with programmes targeting their own community.
"Mobilising people to take ownership of the responsibility for their own community is certainly one I am very proud of," said Rahmah.
-- BERNAMA
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Football Steals The Show In Vientiane (BERNAMA)
From Zulhilmi Supaat
VIENTIANE, Dec 11 (Bernama) -- Although aquatic events provided Malaysia with five gold medals, including setting three new records and improving on four national records, the focus was definitely on football after K.Rajagobal's squad qualified for the semi-finals.
The Malaysian squad beat Thailand 2-1 to deny Thailand a berth in the semi-finals for the first time in 36 years.
The last time the Malaysian squad took a gold medal in the biennial games was 20 years ago in 1989 in Kuala Lumpur under British coach, Trevor Hartley.
Malaysia today won six gold medals, three in swimming, karate (2) and diving (1).
The national contingent also won three silver medals (karate, shooting, snooker and billiards) and nine bronze medals (swimming - 2, shooting - 2, taekwondo - 2, diving - 1, karate - 1 and cycling - 1)
National swimmer, Daniel Bego, broke the SEA Games record and the national record in the 200m men's freestyle with a time of 50.16 seconds.
The games record was previously held by Richard Sam Bera of Indonesia (50.80s) and Daniels's national record was a time of 50.94s set in the World Swimming Championship in Rome.
Siow Yi Ting also broke a games record in the 100m women's breast stroke with a time 1:09.82s.
Siow erased the record of 1:10.55s set by Nicoletta Teo of Singapore in Korat, Thailand last year, and her national record of 1:11.29s set in the Doha Asian Games in 2006.
Khoo Cai Lin in the 400m women's freestyle set a personal best with 4:10.75s, some six seconds faster than her national record of 4:16.96s.
The time renewed her SEA Games record of 4:18.20s set in Korat, Thailand.
Malaysia also set a new national record via the women's freestyle quartet with a time of 3:51.40s, bettering the old record of 3:54.91s.
Karate contributed two gold medals through Mohd Hatta Mahmud in the men's kumite below 84kg while Jamalliah Jamaludin got a gold in the women's kumite above 60kg.
The shooting squad's hopes for a gold were dashed after Bibiana Ng managed a silver in the 10m Individual Women's Air Pistol.
Bibiana Ng and team mates Joseline Cheah and Siti Nur Masitah Mohd Badrin then won a bronze in the 10m Team Air Pistol event while another bronze was won in the 50m Women's Team Prone Rifle event after Muslifah Zulkifli, Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi and Nor Ain Ibrahim failed to defend their title won in Korat.
At the end of the third day of the 25th games, Malaysia was at fifth place with eight golds, nine silvers and 18 bronzes.
Vietnam is at the top spot with 14 golds, 10 silvers and 10 bronzes, followed by Singapore (14, 6, 12), Thailand (13, 22, 17) and Indonesia (11, 7, 14.)
Tomorrow, the fourth day of the 25th SEA Games that began officially on Dec 9 and ends on Dec 19, the focus returns to aquatic events.
Leong Mun Yee, Pandalela Rinong and Yeoh Ken Nee will take part in the diving event and Daniel Bego in the swimming event.
Meanwhile, other events like badminton and golf are still in the early rounds.
-- BERNAMA
Free Screening For Kelantanese At Risk Of HIV Infection (BERNAMA)
MACHANG, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- People in Kelantan who feel they may be at high risk of contracting HIV have been advised to undergo free screening at government health facilities.
Kelantan Deputy Director of Health Dr Abu Hasan Ashaari said the health authorities had detected infection in people regardless of the age factor, even in people 60 years and above.
"They are from both genders, and are particularly those who marry often and are unaware they are carriers of the virus," he told reporters after launching the state-level World Aids Day 2009, here.
Dr Abu Hasan said Kelantan had the highest incidence of HIV infection among the states, adding that the highest number of 1,239 cases were detected in 2005 or equivalent to 93.9 per 100,000 people in the state.
"Between January and October this year, 494 cases were reported or equivalent to 30.2 per 100,000 people," he said.
Dr Abu Hasan said the virus was spread by drug addicts through the sharing of syringe needles and prostitutes in towns on the Malaysia-Thailand border.
He said the authorities planned to reduce the incidence of HIV to 22 per 100,000 people by 2015 with the cooperation of everyone.
-- BERNAMA
International Medical University Will Be Build In Perak (BERNAMA)
International Medical University Will Be Build In Perak
From Kamarul Ariffin Md Yasin
LONDON, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- An international medical university will be built in Perak next year in collaboration with several leading universities, mainly from India, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said Saturday.
He said the project, which would involve an investment of RM7 billion to RM8 billion, had been planned for the past two years through private initiatives and the state government would have equity in it.
"It's some kind of (university) consortium. Initially, the Malaysian-based company will invest RM300 million. We hope they can start operation by next year with a minimum intake. They can have pre-university courses first," he said at a meeting with Malaysian students in the United Kingdom at King's College London.
Dr Zambry said the state government had allocated 120ha of land in Gua Tempurung, near Ipoh, for the company to build the university.
"After the whole project is completed we believe it can accommodate 10,000 students from all over the world. We hope to give more people an opportunity to study in the medical field," he said.
Touching on eradication of poverty in the state, he told the students that the state government would cooperate with Ikhtiar Malaysia.
"Basically, we will transform from an agro-based to a service-based economy," he said, adding that the state government wouldl look into the issue seriously.
"We will address poverty. It's not only about poor people or hardcore poor. We also have to look at those who are not from a poor background but suddenly become poor...vulnerable, like single mothers who are left destitute after their husband's death," he said.
Dr Zambry later met members of the United Kingdom Umno Club and Perakians in the United Kingdom at Malaysia Hall.
-- BERNAMA
Friday, December 11, 2009
Malaysia Not Spared From H1N1
By Jumiati Rosly
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 (Bernama) -- The influenza A (H1N1) pandemic caused panic worldwide this year, and Malaysia was no exception.
Setting the National Influenza Pandemic Preparation Plan in motion, the health ministry launched a big campaign to create public awareness of H1N1 and impart preventive measures to check its spread.
H1N1 was first detected in April in Mexico, forcing the government to shut down public buildings and public places.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported 622,482 positive cases of H1N1, with 7,826 deaths globally, until Nov 22.
Malaysia recorded 77 H1N1-related deaths.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that the government would increase the anti-viral stock via a RM20 million allocation.
To avoid panic, the health ministry plans to switch to seasonal influenza vaccines which contain H1N1 vaccine by February/March to protect against influenza-like diseases.
Malaysia has ordered 400,000 doses of H1N1 vaccines worth RM14 million, to be received in stages for high risk groups like pregnant women and 18-60 year-olds with chronic diseases, while 200,000 had been set aside for frontline medical staff.
The education ministry has allocated RM10 million for preventive equipments like thermometres, sanitisers, nose and mouth masks to students and school staff.
H1N1 was also a big worry for Malaysian haj pilgrims where 26,000 were given seasonal influenza vaccination as prevention.
In February, the health ministry declared war on dengue fever and although statistics for November showed a drop, it was dissatisfied as most cases were detected late. Only 35 per cent were detected early.
Statistics for November showed there were 34,975 dengue cases with 75 deaths, a drop from the 38,995 cases and 84 deaths for the corresponding period last year.
Some 13,895 premises were slapped with compound fines amounting to RM2.6 million for breeding aedes mosquitoes, owners of 13,230 premises were warned and 50 owners of other premises taken to court.
The proposed privatisation of the National Heart Institute (IJN) by Sime Darby Bhd which wanted to take over a 51 per cent stake was another hot topic.
It was shelved by the Cabinet, following protests from various quarters.
The government assured that IJN would not be sold or privatised as long as there was no other alternative for the people to receive heart treatment.
The health ministry also announced that the human papillomavirus immunisation programme to prevent cervical cancer in 300,000 girls aged 13, would be implemented next year.
The immunisation programme costing RM150 million annually, was approved by the Cabinet.
The vaccine would be more effective to prevent cervical cancer among teenagers as compared to adults over 40 years of age.
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women after breast cancer.
-- BERNAMA
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Jururawat Islam sedia berbakti (Utusan Malaysia Online)
 |
| ISHAK Yeop Hamzah bertanya sesuatu kepada sebahagian jururawat yang mengikuti Program Orientasi Tugas Kejururawatan di Yala, baru-baru ini. |
KOMITMEN Malaysia dalam membantu kerajaan Thailand bagi membawa keamanan di tiga wilayah di selatan negara itu yang majoritinya terdiri daripada penduduk Islam sememangnya tidak dapat dinafikan lagi.
Apatah lagi, di dalam Islam sendiri, kita digalakkan membantu sesama Muslim dengan apa cara sekali pun. Begitu juga Malaysia, kerajaan negara ini tidak mahu hanya menjadi pemerhati kepada pergolakan yang berlaku di Narathiwat, Yala dan Pattani.
Atas sebab itulah, Malaysia bersedia menubuhkan Task Force 2010 (Malaysia) yang bekerjasama dengan Task Force 960 Thailand bagi merangka pelbagai program yang bertujuan membantu penduduk Islam di tiga wilayah yang bergolak berkenaan.
Sejak kewujudannya, Task Force 2010 (Malaysia) yang dipimpin oleh Ketua Pengarahnya, Leftenan Jeneral Datuk Wan Abu Bakar Omar telah mengatur pelbagai program terutamanya dalam soal memberi kemahiran kepada belia selatan Thailand dalam pelbagai bidang termasuklah kejururawatan, komputer
Usaha Task Force 2010 (Malaysia) itu bertujuan bagi memastikan, selatan Thailand akan mampu mempunyai golongan generasi belia yang berupaya untuk membantu masyarakat sendiri dan sekali gus mengelakkan mereka daripada terjebak dalam sebarang kegiatan yang tidak sihat.
Ia kerana sudah menjadi lumrah dalam sesuatu konflik, apatah lagi melibatkan gerakan puak pemisah, generasi muda pasti menjadi sasaran untuk dipengaruhi bagi meneruskan perjuangan songsang berkenaan.
Justeru tumpuan harus diberikan kepada golongan belia supaya mereka mempunyai kemahiran yang mampu membantu mereka meneruskan kehidupan di tanah air sendiri dengan melakukan pekerjaan bersesuaian.
Pada 2 Disember lalu, Task Force 2010 (Malaysia) dengan kerjasama Task Force 960 terus mengorak langkah bagi memberikan pendedahan kepada belia dari selatan Thailand yang pernah mengikuti kursus kejururawatan di negara ini.
Kali ini, seramai 40 orang daripada mereka mengikuti Program Orientasi Tugas Kejururawatan di Kolej Kejururawatan Boromrajchoni Southern Region Thailand di Yala selama sebulan.
Program itu bertujuan memberi penekanan terhadap kerja-kerja praktikal sebagai jururawat seperti yang sedang digunapakai dan diperakui oleh Kementerian Kesihatan Thailand.
Kesemua mereka sebelum ini telah mengikuti Program Latihan Pembantu Jururawat selama setahun di Universiti Kuala Lumpur - Royal of Medicine Perak (UniKL-RCMP). Ia dianjurkan oleh kedua-dua task force berkenaan.
Melalui pendedahan selama sebulan di Yala itu, ia sudah pasti akan memberikan ilmu yang bermanfaat dalam usaha memastikan mereka menjadi jururawat yang berkebolehan.
Selepas mengikuti program orientasi itu, mereka akan meneruskan khidmat masing-masing sebagai pembantu jururawat terlatih di Hospital dan klinik kerajaan sekitar Yala, Patani dan Narathiwat.
Penghargaan
Atas sebab itulah, tiada apa yang mampu mereka lafazkan selain mengucapkan penghargaan dan terima kasih kepada kerajaan Malaysia kerana sebelum ini telah memberikan peluang untuk mengikuti program latihan di negara ini.
‘‘Segala jasa yang dilakukan oleh Malaysia melalui Task Force 2010 (Malaysia) akan kami kenang sehingga akhir hayat,’’ kata Suraya Samah dari Yala.
Suraya berkata, walaupun jururawat bukanlah menjadi cita-cita utamanya tetapi sejak mengikuti kursus dalam bidang itu, beliau mula tertarik dengan kerjaya berkenaan.
‘‘Saya akan berusaha untuk memberikan perkhidmatan terbaik kepada masyarakat di kawasan saya,’’ katanya.
Rakannya, Suhaida Awai dari Narathiwat pula berkata, kesungguhan kerajaan Malaysia melalui Task Force 2010 (Malaysia) yang terus merancang pelbagai program bagi meningkatkan kemahiran mereka adalah sesuatu yang menyentuh perasaan.
Katanya, keadaan itu membuktikan bahawa Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara Islam sentiasa berusaha membantu saudara sesama agama di negara lain.
‘‘Ilmu yang diperolehi tidak akan kami sia-siakan. Sebaliknya ia akan dicurahkan sepenuhnya bagi berbakti kepada penduduk,’’ katanya.
Suhaida berharap, selepas ini program latihan kejururawatan seumpama itu akan diteruskan bagi memberi peluang kepada belia lain pula di selatan Thailand mengikutinya.
‘‘Saya percaya ramai yang ingin menyertai kursus ini kerana ia akan mampu membantu kami mendapat pekerjaan,’’ katanya.
Hasmah Sama daripada Pattani pula berkata, beliau berterima kasih dengan keprihatinan Malaysia dalam melaksanakan kursus jururawat tersebut.
Apa yang menarik, biarpun kebanyakan daripada mereka berkelulusan sekolah agama, tetapi sepanjang mengikuti program latihan berkenaan, mereka berupaya menunjukkan kemampuan yang memberangsangkan dan mampu menjadi jururawat Islam yang cemerlang.
Berucap di majlis penyampaian sijil selepas program orientasi tersebut, Pengarah Operasi Task Force 2010 (Malaysia), Brigedier Jeneral Datuk Ishak Yeop Hamzah berkata, melalui program itu adalah diharapkan ia akan memahirkan lagi kemampuan jururawat-jururawat yang terlibat.
Katanya, dengan kemampuan itu ia sudah tentulah mampu memberikan mereka manfaat untuk menabur bakti di tanah air sendiri terutama di Yala, Pattani dan Narawathiwat
‘‘Tanamkanlah keazaman pada diri masing-masing untuk memberi perkhidmatan terbaik kepada masyarakat,’’ katanya.
Ishak berkata, masyarakat di ketiga-tiga wilayah berkenaan sudah pasti akan berasa bangga jika jururawat-jururawat terlibat mampu menunjukkan komitmen yang tinggi dalam melaksanakan tanggungjawab yang diberikan.
‘‘Sebab itulah, mereka perlu berjanji bahawa kelayakan dan pengalaman yang sedia ada dengan diri masing-masing akan digunakan sepenuhnya untuk berbakti kepada masyarakat di selatan Thailand.
‘‘Mereka harus sedar bahawa tugas jururawat adalah amat dihormati dan sentiasa dipandang mulia,’’ katanya.
Sememangnya hanya melalui perkhidmatan yang terbaik sahaja, ia sudah pasti mampu membantu mereka untuk mencatatkan kejayaan lebih cemerlang di masa-masa akan datang.
Apa yang lebih penting dengan memberikan pendedahan kepada belia di selatan Thailand mengikuti program seumpama ini, ia akan sedikit sebanyak membantu membawa keamanan di wilayah yang bergolak tersebut.
Di samping itu juga, adalah menjadi harapan agar program ini akan dapat membantu usaha-usaha membawa keamanan ke selatan Thailand.
Apa pun rumusannya, program orientasi yang diadakan itu sekali lagi membuktikan bahawa Malaysia sememangnya ikhlas dalam membantu Thailand memulihkan keadaan di selatan negara itu.
Dan bukti keikhlasan Malaysia akan lebih nyata, apabila Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak melawat Narathiwat pada Rabu ini.
Semoga lawatan itu akan memperkukuhkan lagi kerjasama antara kedua-dua negara bagi memastikan cahaya keamanan kembali bersinar di bumi selatan Thailand.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
CDC: Swine flu is widespread only in 25 states
ATLANTA – Swine flu infections continue to wane, just as vaccine is becoming plentiful enough that some communities are allowing everyone to get it, not just those in priority groups.
Swine flu was widespread in only 25 states last week — mostly in the Northeast and Southwest, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
In late October, 48 states were reporting widespread cases of swine flu. But since then, there's been a decline across the country, and it appears that a fall wave of swine flu infections has peaked.
Meanwhile, a shortage of swine flu vaccine is easing, with 73 million doses now available, roughly twice as much as there was a month ago. And another 10 million doses are expected in the next week, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the CDC's director.
Initially, limited supplies caused the CDC to advise state and local health officials to reserve doses for those at highest risk for severe complications from swine flu or those who take care of them. That group includes pregnant women, children and young adults, health-care workers and people with asthma and certain other health problems.
Demand for the vaccine is still high in many places, but enough has become available that some communities are now giving it to people outside the priority groups, Frieden said.
"The number of communities that do that will increase in the coming weeks," he predicted, at a press conference in Atlanta.
At least three states — Alaska, Arkansas and Oklahoma — have begun offering swine flu vaccine to all comers. And some communities have opened vaccinations up, including Broward County, Fla., and Sacramento County, Calif., said Paula Steib, spokeswoman for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
Since it was first identified in April, swine flu has sickened an estimated 22 million Americans and killed 4,000. It has proved to be similar to seasonal flu but a bigger threat to children and young adults.
The swine flu pandemic has so far hit in two waves in the United States: First in the spring, then a larger wave that started in the late summer.
Flu is hard to predict, and health officials say they are worried of the possibility of a third wave this winter. The CDC said a new round of public service announcements about getting vaccinated are to begin next week.
___
On the Net:
CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm
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