levs also fielding a number of your questions as well as your comments. let me begin with you, dr. schaffner, because we have already been receiving a whole lot of comments from people on my blog, and some that particularly struck my interest really kind of painted the picture of what a lot of people are thinking h1n1 or the swine flu is all about. this came from someone who says he's a government worker with california. he says my md said that the h1n1 is not worth worrying about and has stated that the imization is only for pregnant women and children. is that true? >> well, how severe is it? it's going to make an awful lot of people sick, and fortunately most of them will be sick for only three or four days and will get better. however, among all those people sick are people with underlying illnesses, asthma, diabetes, heart disease. they're more likely to get the complications of flu and furthermore, this h1n1 virus can

take a perfectly normal child, a healthy child, make them ill in the morning and by the evening have that child be in an intensive care unit. >> so it's fast moving. >> we take this very seriously, and so we believe when the vaccine is ready, let's get everyone vaccinated as quickly as possible. >> also on my blog, christine is taking it very seriously, too. she's why she says, quote, i have bought nearly $400 worth of masks and gloves for my grown children and grandchildren and their families in case there is not a vaccine in time. we have been hearing this vaccine ready to go possibly by mid-october. is she going overboard or should we all be doing that? >> we should all be washing our hands. being very careful about that. >> buying the masks too extreme? >> well, some people will do that. it's not recommended by the cdc. while we're worried about h1n1, let's get vaccinated against seasonal influenza because that vaccine is available now. >> right. and also this coming from katy

on my blog. she says the swine flu should be an eye-opener to young adults and to the elderly that if you don't take care of yourself, you may be at risk. so is that the takeaway, that you're kind of bringing this on yourself if you're not taking care of yourself? >> well, the virus is the thing that will make you sick. if you have an underlying illness, you're more severely ill, but we can do a lot to prevent that. let's get seasonal vaccine. let's get the h1n1 vaccine when it becomes available. in the meantime, wash hands. if we're sick, we should stay home so we don't give it to other people, and try to avoid people who are coughing and sneezing. >> right. and, you know, covering up i guess with a tissue or coughing into your arm, that whole thing we are getting used to doing that. doctor, we have a lot of questions coming your way, too. those sort of things kind of struck my interest, those comments coming from a lot of folks who have been reaching out to us via blog. so josh levs have been fielding through a lot more questions people have for you. josh, what is some of what we're

hearing? >> i'm following these questions as they come in. doctor, what i'm going to do is fire as many as i can at you because we definitely want to get responses. we'll start off with this, is it true if you take a lot of vitamin d, i think we can show this question, that can help fight swine flu. is that accurate? >> we want to keep ourselves in good shape, but no specific vitamin will avoid swine flu. so we'll need the vaccine to do that and all the other things we talked about. >> should people boost their vitamin d levels? >> just drink your orange juice and eat vegetables and a balanced diet. >> this one i found interesting. this is from marcie who asked is it safer for my daughter to have her 2-year-old immunizations and the h1n1 inoculation at the same time? doctor? >> yes. absolutely, it's remarkable. our immune system can handle that. there's no difficulty in having multiple immunizations at the same time. >> this is great. let's go to the third one here.

this comes from us from someone who is blogging to us under the name bear. he says my college has mandatory orientation placing students together in semi private rooms overnight. in light of h1n1, it looks irresponsible. does life go on? should people still be okay rooming together overnight? how careful do people need to be in na respect? >> well, bear, you just have to worry about whether your roommate is coughing and sneezing and such. there are lots of interaction that is we have all the time. let's try to avoid people who are already sick and wash our hands, get that seasonal flu vaccine, and when h1n1 vaccine becomes available, see when you're eligible to get it. >> just another point on that before i read you one more question, you can catch it from someone who doesn't have the symptoms. technically you could. you could get that virus from someone who is carrying it but not yet coughing or sneezy. >> you're right. we can't walk around in a cocoon. >> let me toss in one more if i can. this one from toye smith who

said i would like to see the government mandate all employers to have their employees vaccinated. are we at the point where we trust this vaccine enough that entire offices should be vaccinated as soon as possible? >> well, i'm going to trust this vaccine. you know, i'm one of the vaccine volunteers also. i have received my two doses, so i really think this is going to be a very effective vaccine, and as it becomes progressively available during the fall, more and more people will get it. that's a good thing to reduce transmission and protect ourselves. >> thank you. fred, we're going to keep this going throughout the show. following everything at cnn.com/fredricka. >> there is no excuse. lots of questions out there, and this is the place to get them all answered. doctor, i can't wait to ask you a little more about any kind of side effects you felt from the two shots that you have already received. how about this family out of washington, d.c., area, the hendys. they are with us as well because

their two kids right there, they are part of the clinical trials of the h1n1 vaccine. would you volunteer your family? would you allow your children to step forward and say, we want to be part of the clinical trials? we're going to be asking them questions and apparently you have a lot of questions for them as well. so much more straight ahead involving the hendys, josh levs, and even dr. schaffner, and just in case you're confused, do i have a cold? do i have a flu, the seasonal flu or do i have swine flu, here are some of the symptoms. take a look. carol, when you replaced casual friday with nordic tuesday, was it really for fun, or to save money on heat? why? don't you think nordic tuesday is fun? oh no, it's fun... you know, if you are trying to cut costs, fedex can help. we've got express options, fast ground and freight service-- you can save money and keep the heat on. great idea. that is a great idea. well, if nordic tuesday wasn't so much fun. (announcer) we understand.

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welcome back. we're focusing on the h1n1 virus. everything you need to know as we encroach on a season which is expected to bring about many, many cases. already we're seeing many cases in schools and in colleges across the country. so everything you need to know. should you be getting the vaccine, which is to be available come mid-october, and we understand that pregnant women and children are likely to be the most vulnerable, and they

are being urged by the cdc and other medical entities to try to get that h1n1 vaccine. so how effective is it? how will it be administered? will it work? and really 90,000 people may die from the h1n1 virus. that in comparison to the seasonal flu where 36,000 people traditionally die from it on an annual basis. back with us dr. william schaffner, an expert on infectious diseases, and we also have josh levs who has been fielding a number of questions and comments. we've been flooded with lots of questions and comments on the h1n1 virus. so dr. snchaffner, this vaccine still not perfected, but it's expected to be available to the masses come mid-october? >> fred, everybody is working to make this vaccine available just as quickly as possible, but nobody is cutting any corners. so all the tests of effectiveness and safety that we usually use in seasonal

influenza vaccine is being applied to this one. mid-october, first delivery should arrive. >> we're trying to answer what to expect now from this vaccine. what to expect from the h1n1 virus. you received, doctor, the two doses. you were part of the clinical trials, right? what did you experience in the immediate onset from getting these vaccinations? >> well, it was amazingly easy. i have to tell you, usually when i get my seasonal vaccine my arm stings for about an hour or two, but with this one nothing. so it's been wonderful. no fever, no tenderness, no swelling. it's been very straightforward. >> and i hear you loud and clear. you are urging people to get this vaccine, but is there going to be enough to go around? >> well, in the beginning we'll get across the country about 45 million doses, and, yes, indeed, we are asking pregnant women, we're asking children, and young adults up to age 24 to come forward. we're asking the parents and those who care for children less than 6 months of age because we can't vaccinate them exactly,

them to come forward, and somewhat older adults who have underlying serious illnesses, heart disease, lung disease. those are the folks who should go to the front of the line along with health care workers, of course, and then as more vaccine comes in every week, the rest of us can come and get the vaccine. >> josh levs has been fielding a lot of questions and comments from people. what do they want to know about what to expect this season from the vaccine from this virus itself. >> a lot of people just don't trust t you know when you talk about vaccines in general, you find serious skepticism out there. i will show you one example and see if you can respond to this. i'm more concerned about how fast and untested this vaccine is going to be made and issued. she's saying -- and we're also hearing a lot of people saying what do we not know yet about side effects, whether short term or long term. yes, you're part of a trial, but it does seem to be pretty fast. should people trust this vaccine? is it absolutely something they're better off doing? >> well, the short answer is yes, they can trust it, josh and

mary kay. each year we make a brand new influenza vaccine that's subject to tests. last year we gave 90 million doses. it must be our safest vaccine. this one is being made exactly the same way. as i said before, we're not cutting a single corner. by the time it's released, we will have all the information we need about its effectiveness and its safety. >> doctor, let me tell you a lot of people are bringing up pregnant women and concerns about pregnant women and some are specifically saying that they're not necessarily comfortable for some pregnant women in their lives taking this vaccine. could there be some sort of negative consequences to a fetus from a vaccine, from this vaccine? >> yeah. i understand that completely. mind you, for the last ten years, the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists as well as the cdc advisory committee have said that all women who are pregnant during

the influenza season should be vaccinated. and why is that? because when pregnant women become ill with influenza, they have rates of complications that are comparable to people age 65 and older. that can adversely affect the fetus. so influenza vaccine is safe during pregnancy. it helps protect the mother and after the child is born, that infant for the first six months picks up some of that protection. so one of my friends calls it the walmart special, two for the price of one. protect mom and the baby. >> fred, i have time for one more, right? >> yeah. >> let's zoom in on the screen. i want to show you something we've gotten from facebook. this is something we've been talking about already. this is from robert who wrote, you know what? best thing to do for prevention, work out, do your best to stay healthy. then you don't have to worry about any kind of flu. we know it's not that simple. but how big a part of the picture here is exercising, eating healthy, getting enough

sleep, all the basics of health? >> i tried to do all that, and i will probably get to work out a little bit later this afternoon, but that's not sufficient. that's why i volunteered for the vaccine trial because it's so important that we have the vaccine in addition to all of those other things. >> okay. and there are a couple options, aren't there, doctor, when it pertains to this vaccine? you can get an inoculation or there's a mist. how do you know which is best for you? when is a mist something you want to turn toward. >> the nasal spray vaccine is age everyone age 2 through 50 who is otherwise healthy. it's an easy and quick way to get the vaccine. we've used it in my family. others of us who are a little bit older than 50 have to get the inoculation. they're quite comparable. >> we can expect while a lot of early child care providers are being urged to get the vaccine, how about first responders or perhaps even other medical care

providers and even teachers since they're exposed to a lot of young people who apparently are among the more vulnerable and the ones who last year were the biggest carriers. >> yes. certainly health care workers and emergency medical technicians and others are to go to the front of the line. and then as the vaccine comes in each week, about 20 more million doses around the country, we'll be able to give it to everyone who wants it. just pay attention locally. you'll get the word from your local health department. >> thank you so much. josh, we have many more questions, many more comments, and i know you're dying to hear from this one family. maryland family. they're joining us. the father is a pediatrician. two of their children right there in the center said, yes, we want to be part of the clinical trials. what are they experiencing? how did they come about this decision? and what worries do they have and how about for that pediatrician dad? what kind of worries does he have about the h1n1 virus?

we'll get back to answering your questions about the h1n1 virus. first these top stories. the georgia man who called 911 to report his family had been killed is now charged with their killings. guy heinze, jr. faces eight counts of first-degree murder. two new pieces of information led them to his arrest. funerals for the family were set for this afternoon. authorities in california are hoping a $100,000 reward will lead them to the arsonist who set the big wildfire near los angeles called the station fire. right now the blaze is 49% contained. the flames have burned more than 154,000 acres. and sources tell cnn the white house is talking about drafting its own formal reform

legislation if a deal in congress falls through. one source says the white house is leaning towards dropping the public option. the plan would cover most, but not all, of the 46 million americans without insurance. we're talking about h1n1 virus. how to identify it, how to deal with it this season. we're not only dealing with the seasonal flu this year but also dealing with h1n1, and we've heard a number of encouragements coming from the white house on down to the cdc saying you want to take advantage of the vaccine when it comes out come mid-october. susan candiotti is also going to be taking us back to new york where last year it was the epicenter of the spread of the h1n1 virus. how are they handling the students return this school year?

welcome back. we're focusing on the h1n1 virus. we're answering your questions. we heard from the cdc, dr. thomas freeden, who says you need to be prepared. >> the h1n1 influenza is here. it is preding in parts of the u.s., particularly in the southeast, and, in fact, it never went away. we had it throughout the summer in summer camps and now with colleges and schools coming back into session, we're seeing more cases. >> speaking of colleges, already the american college health association is saying that 55% of colleges and urniversities across the country are reporting cases of h1n1 virus and they're

taking extreme measures to try to if not treat the students, isolate them, separate them, and even in some cases like on the campus of the university of washington where 2,000 reported cases are already taking place, some college campuses actually have dormitories devoted to those who are sick and asking them not to attend class. so last year among the schools that dealt with the h1n1 virus, many of them in new york, one in particular, a private catholic school. susan can't yotdiotti went back find out what kind of lessons were learned. >> reporter: these sisters are excited about going back to school, except for one thing. the h1n1 virus, or swine flu. >> i was nauseous, threw up, body chills, fever. >> reporter: and rita has the dubious distinction of being among the first people in the country to get swine flu last swing at new york city's epicenter, st. francis prep

school. >> as soon as i say prep, people say the swine school? >> reporter: the school says it's as ready as possible. the buildings was scrubbed down last spring. hand sanitizers are in the cafeteria and every bathroom. the principal is teaching other schools how to handle an outbreak. are you worried? >> well, i am worried. some of the experts are saying since so many kids had the flu here, that they've probably built up an immunity to it. >> reporter: but this school isn't taking any chances. school assemblies will remind kids how to protect themselves. in the event of an outbreak, sick kids will be temporarily isolated in the auditorium. >> there were kids around the bend waiting to get in. >> reporter: the school nurse knows firsthand about a quick response. when the swine flu hit, the school's phone lines were jammed. security guards had to help take temperatures. to save time should a lot of students show up at once, this year they will be using these strip thermometers. easy to use, just peel off the

back, and put it on your forehead. this is brian. and it will register the temperature just like that. the temperature glows, but is every school this prepared? >> my biggest fear is that it would maybe be in a school where there was no nurse and it would be chaos for those kids. >> reporter: some schools can't afford nurses. nationwide vermont has the best nurse to student ratio, one nurse for every 275 students. in utah it jumps to one nurse for every 4900 students. how to prevent an outbreak. in new york city elementary students will be offered free swine flu vaccines when they're ready next month. >> plan on getting the vaccine? >> yeah, i would definitely get it. >> i'm just hoping that it doesn't -- like nothing like this happens again this year or any year. >> reporter: susan candiotti, cnn, new york. okay. well, parents and teachers across the country are hoping their school is not faced with

the h1n1. so out of an abundance of caution, we're going to introduce you to a maryland family that decided to allow their kids ages 7 and 9 to volunteer thegmselveses for the clinical trial. welcome to the hendys and they are joining us from washington. good to see you all. >> thank you for having us. >> hi. >> dr. hendy, let me begin with you. you're a pediatrician. i would like to know was the family influenced by your point of view on whether the h1n1 vaccine, the trial, was something to take part in or is this an independent decision that your children, sarah and josh, made? >> i think we all made the decision together. of course, me being a pediatrician did help influence it. you know, unfortunately, i'm one of the people that has to see all the children that get really sick from even the seasonal flu, and one of the most important things we do as pediatricianis s

preventative care and the most effective part of that is vaccines. i was happy to enroll my children in this vaccine study to get them protected as soon as possible. >> jamie, let me speak with you real quick about your concerns. did you have any trepidation about your kids being part of a clinical trial? >> not really. i thought that the risks of them getting the swine flu would far outweigh the risks of the shot. so it was really a no-brainer for me. and also the fact that my husband, because he is a pediatrician and he was really urging for the kids to do it, that also made the decision much easier. >> were there kids in your kids' school say last year when h1n1 was introduced to a lot of us for the first time, were any of them infected last year? any friends of your kids or school mates of your kids? >> we did know two kids this

summer that probably had it from a summer camp, and the one friend that went to camp with my kids was out for about a week. so my kids did get to see that firsthand. he was really, really sick, and his brother was really sick, too. >> okay. so, sarah, let me begin with you, 9 years old. give me an idea of what the trials have been like so far. what have you had to do? did you get a shot already? >> yeah. i only got one shot. >> and did you feel anything afterwards? did you feel sick or did you feel just fine? do you feel any differently? >> no. >> were you nervous about taking this, being part of the trial? >> no. >> really? >> and so, josh, what do you know about this h1n1 virus? josh, you're 7. i'm wondering from you, do you know what's going on here, why you got another inoculation, why you got another shot? >> i got one.

>> you got one. do you have a pretty good understanding about why, what you're protecting yourself from? >> i don't know. >> well, as long as you're feeling okay now, right, and so dr. hendi, i guess as long as the kids feel pretty at ease about this, they're not expressing they feel discomfort at all, we are talking about a clinical trial and a lot of folks who are waiting for this vaccine to be available in mid-october, they're saying they need the time to think about it. they're afraid they might get sick from the vaccine as opposed to being protected. >> you know, it's an inactived vaccine just like the seasonal flu shot. it's being made the same way. same side effect profile. josh actually played football the night he got his first shot and did pretty good, and so it's no different. parents should think of it no different than the seasonal flu shot. there will just be two strains, two different types of flu going

around this winter, seasonal flu and the swine flu. >> will they also get the regular flu shot as well? >> you can't get it at the same time you're going through the trials so the soonest possible time they can get it after the trial they will. we have been getting it out in our practice for the last three weeks at a pretty good rate. those people are getting their flu shot like they should. >> i guess i should be asking, maybe i should ask first you and your wife, have you both been part of the trials, too, or are you planning to get the vaccine? >> i wanted to. unfortunately, for the kids they come up to our practice in fredrick to run the trials. for the adult studies you had to drive in baltimore five separate days and we just couldn't do t otherwise i would have loved to. >> come october are you planning on getting it or convincing your husband? >> absolutely, absolutely. we'll get the swine flu shot. no reservations at all.

>> all right. dr. hendi, jamie, sarah, and josh as well. thank you for participating in our conversation about what to expect if we so choose to get that vaccine come mid-october when it's available to everybody. thanks a lot. so we're going to talk a little more about the vaccine. what are the possible side effects and will it, indeed, give people the flu? we heard from the hendis, that, no, there were no side effects. they didn't feel anything after the fact. what about for the masses? i don't think you can live the american lifestyle without energy. we have all this energy here in the u.s. we have wind. we have solar, obviously. we have lots of oil. i think natural gas is part of the energy mix of the future. i think we have the can-do. we have the capability. we have the technology. the solutions are here. we just need to find them here.

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take the activia challenge. it works or your money back! ♪ activia! welcome back. we're focusing on the h1n1 virus, everything you need to know. you make a decision, yes, i will get the swine flu vaccine once it's available. will everything be okay just like it was for sarah and josh

hendi who we met just before the break? let's reintroduce to you dr. william schaffner. he's an infectious disease professor at vanderbilt university. he's a specialist on all things h1n1. he's been advising the cdc and we have our josh levs who has been fielding a lot of your questions as well as your comments. so dr. schaffner, we have a lot of questions. people are a little concerned. they're particularly concerned about whether they actually get the swine flu, the h1n1, if they get inoculated, right? >> there isn't any reason to believe that. that's an old myth, that you can get flu from the flu vaccine. that's incorrect, fred, and so you can put that aside. if you get the nasal spray variety, you might have a little nasal drip and a sore throat for a day, but that's a whole lot better than getting influenza, and most people get a little bit of a sore arm for about a half a day. didn't even happen to me this time. >> all right, josh, what are some of the other questions or concerns people have?

why are they a little nervous about this vaccine? >> here is one of the biggest reasons. let's zoom right into the screen behind me. how is it most medicines take years to go to market after extensive testing, yet this one goes to market within months? >> that's an excellent question. >> anything suspicious about the timing? >> and, josh, with he have -- we have to remember each year we make a new influenza vaccine so we have that down, but we reconstitute it in a new way each year. this one is being subject to the same safety and effectiveness tests. >> given that though, doctor, i want to show you the second part of the question which i also found very interesting. why isn't that included in the normal flu vaccine. why don't people just go get one shot? >> wouldn't that be wonderful? except flu is fickle. it faked us out. just when we were finished manufacturing the regular vaccine, oh, big surprise, in april and may h1n1 showed up.

so there's no way we could combine them, right? so this time we have to take an extra inoculation or two. >> doctor, speaking of the fickleness, check out this from rosemary ashley. she says is it true that if you have the flu that was going around in 1958 you may have some immunity people talk about these various flus in the past. we have something similar at our blog from miriam who talks about her daughter when she was a child had the swine flu vaccine from years and years and years ago. are people who had those in any stronger position to fight off this flu? >> two questions. let's go rosemary's first. namely, do people who are a bit older now, if they saw a virus similar to this like a cousin to this virus back in the 1950s, are they protected? in part, and that's why older people currently are less affected by the h1n1 flu.

so that's a small advantage to being older. as to whether there's any protection from the swine flu vaccine that we received in 1976, the answer is no. they have the same name, but they're quite different viruses. so we'll still have to get vaccinated even if we got vaccinated back in '76. >> let me just tell our audience, keep them coming cnn.com/fred ricka or josh. >> those were some of the worry that is people had. now in the next segment we'll try to separate fact from fiction such as this is a pretty prevalent question. is it safe to eat pork because of the season of h1n1 or swine flu? why is dick butkus here? i hired him to speak. a lot of fortune 500 companies use him. but-- i'm your only employee. we're gonna start using fedex to ship globally-- that means billions of potential customers. we're gonna be huge. good morning! you know business is a lot like football... i just don't understand...

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we can't use them for a vacation. you can use the points for just about anything. i know... ♪ the way you look tonight ♪ chase what matters. get your new chase sapphire card at chase.com/sapphire. back to answering all your questions about h1n1 but first a look at the top stories. finance ministers meeting in london say the world economy is improving, but it's still too early to drop stimulus measures. today's meeting was a prelude to the g-20 meeting of presidents and prime ministers later this month in pittsburgh. and in western pennsylvania today a hunt for a missing boy has ended with a tragic discovery and an arrest. police say they found the body of 4-year-old way yacht smithski stuffed in a septic tank. a suspect is in custody. and look in the water. there's one big reason, that one right there, why massachusetts officials are warning beachgoers

to be careful this labor day weekend. five very big sharks have been spotted off the coast of cape cod. at least one of them is believed to be a great white. worldwide shark attacks kill an average of four people a year. we're focusing on h1n1. your questions answered. we'll have more of that right after this. an apple a day won't keep the virus away, about you how an apple can actually help you keep track of the swine flu. welcome to progressive. how may i help you? i'm looking for a deal on car insurance. i think i might have a coupon in here. there's an easier way. we've got the "name your price" option. you do? follow me. you tell us how much you want to pay, and we'll build you a policy that fits your budgede and i still get great coverage? uh-huh. go ahead. you're the boss.

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this hour we've been answering a lot of guess about the h1n1 virus, the swine flu, when and who should be getting the vaccine, which will be available come mid-october, and what should you be concerned about if you don't. well, now let's try to delve into some of the myths. let's fact check if we can. dr. william schaffner is back with us of vanderbilt university and he also advises the cdc. he's an infectious disease specialist as well as our josh levs who has been going through

a lot of your e-mails. we're getting a deluge of comments and questions about the swine flu, so let's begin with some fact checking, if you will, dr. schaffner. one, a lot of people are still asking the question, is it safe to eat pork because they hear the word swine through? >> enjoy your pork chop, yum, yum, there's no danger to eating pork at all. put that out of your mind. enjoy your dinner. >> should i stop shaking hands with people? be a little less social? >> that's an interesting question, and the indians touch elbows. that's kind of catching on, and in addition to that, let's wash our hands very, very frequently. the alcohol gels work. soap and water is wonderful. do it frequently. >> still be social. it's already. and am i immune to the h1n1 if i've already had it? >> well, the answer to that is yes. >> really? >> however, most people haven't had it specifically diagnosed and there are other things that

can cause symptoms that are very similar. so we don't really know. those people in whom it's not been specifically diagnosed, they should get vaccinated. >> interesting, and i guess the confusion is because we heard a lot last year and earlier this year people who had the h1n1 they weren't really sure if it was the seasonal flu. very similar symptoms and there really is no treatment, correct, you just have to let it get out of your system on its own? >> tyme i beg your pardon, we have two antiviral drug that is work very, very well. >> what are they? >> one is called tamiflu and the other is called relenza but they have to be started early. not everyone will get it. but particularly people with underlying illnesses, they should call their health care provider. >> perfect. that's why we have you here, give us the facts. josh, what are some of the other questions people are asking?

>> i have one. let's zoom in here. i have got about it from a lot of people. is it true there are reports from japan that the vac scene causes nightmares? >> the vaccine, no, but you can have nightmares if you're very, very ill and you have disturbed sleep, but not the vaccine. >> so there's nothing about sleep that we're hearing about in there. >> no. >> it doesn't fit very neatly into here but i want to ask you this quickly. a lot of people are writing us about something you mentioned. you said a child can seem perfectly healthy in the morning and be in the icu by night. a lot of people are saying, is there anything else you can do to prevent your kid from being one of those kids? >> be very careful to make sure if the child really starts to look ill, get that child to an emergency room or call your pediatrician or family doctor right away. >> i think the complexity here is that we've also heard, sanjay has talked to some doctors, we

have heard from doctors who say if your kid has flu, do what you would normally do, some of the basics. when does it cross the line to get to the emergency room? >> josh, it's tough, but if that temperature gets very high, if the child is really looking badly, if you're at all worried about that child, make that call. >> all right. dr. schaffner, josh levs, thanks so much. right now it seems the concentration of a lot of these cases are in the southeast. why is that and don't you need to know how to track this h1n1, perhaps an area you might be traveling to? you need to know whether you are being made more vulnerable. jaish levs will be back with us tracking the swine flu. (mom) i'm not going to be able to see her every day.

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we're focusing on the h1n1

virus. already in the past 4 1/2 months thousands of people have been hospitalized about the h1n1 virus and there have been a number of deaths as well. so where have most of the h1n1 infections taken place in this country? josh levs is keeping a close watch of tracking this swine flu. we know that there's been a pretty heavy concentration in the southeast, right? >> there has. it's really interesting to see what that's maps end up showing. i will take you to one of the major websites the people are looking at. this is at cnn.com because we have a whole section on it. cnn.com/h1n1. it's filled with information. here is the map we were just talking about. you were talking about the southeast. look at the shot of the united states here. definitely a sconcentration in this area. i posted links to all these. at the end i will show you where everything is. the way health map works is you click on any disease, virus, illness, and you can give it a time frame.

say the last week, two weeks, it will show you the reported cases. you can click on one of the cases, it will give you the information. a couple more pages to show you. this is interesting. google. google tracks your searches in general. if one day out of nowhere millions of people are suddenly searching for something, they point that out. now, what they've done is created this flu trends page so if all of a sudden people in a certain part of australia, new zealand, the united states, anywhere, are suddenly doing a lot of searching about this particular flu, they're going to send out an alert and say, hey, there might be a reason that people suddenly in oklahoma, whatever it is, are searching for information about the flu. maybe there's something going on there. finally, flu.gov is from the administration. this is a major website. the obama administration has set this up to provide people all the latest that the administration has, and everything i just showed you you can see her at cnn.com/josh. i have links to all these things and we would love to hear from you. if they work for you or if they don't.

if you know other sites that work great, we're following this and sharing it right here. >> josh, thanks so much. dr. william schaffner will be back with us, too, with some final questions and comments. there he is right there. we have the final questions for you right now, dr. schaffner. a few things people are saying which i find pretty interesting even on my blog. my college has a mandatory overnight orientation placing all people together in semi private rooms overnight. this person is saying is that a good idea? >> well, we're all doing whatever we can. we can't isolate ourselves completely. the manufacture sincereemphasis schools. they're teaching about hand washing. if you're sick, go see your doctor and you will be put in the hospital or in a separate dorm. so they're doing their best to limit the spread in schools and universities. >> okay. and then from laura, she says looks like i'm in the minority here because i'm not in the least bit afraid of swine flu. she says for a couple reasons. one, she lives in a rural area.

so if you live in a rural area, if you feel like you're really not in contact with the general public that much, maybe you don't need to worry about a vaccine? or even worry about being exposed to the virus? >> well, i don't know about not being worried because flu can be anywhere and we do recommend that if you're out there and you're on that list to get the h1n1 vaccine when it becomes available, i think you should take advantage of it. >> okay. any other final questions, josh, you're seeing on facebook or your blog? >> we have a little bit. we're talking about fact checks and myths. i assume this is myth. joan, i have a crazy question. i heard the virus can live on paper. how do colleges get rid of germs on textbooks or library books, could they microwave them to kill the virus? if you're touching something, a paper, a wall, a book, will you get the virus? >> two good things. first, the environment is not a major way influenza spreads. it spreads because people breathe in and out what other

people breathe out, and then through hands. so wash your hands very, very vigorously. >> i think i can do one more. let's take a look from crystal. since the flu virus mutates every year, what guarantee is the vaccination prepared now will be effective. hasn't it mutated in the past? >> neat question. this has been a very, very stable virus throughout. so this vaccine ought to be -- >> oh, no, we just lost him. we're going it try to get -- >> stable virus throughout. >> a cliff-hanger. we will find out -- >> i'll finish the sentence at cnn.com/fredricka. >> and we'll also try to get it on tomorrow at 4:00 eastern time as a continuation of how we focused on this entire hour. it's pretty remarkable. a lot of folks feel educated on one end about h1n1, what we need to know about, it how do we protect ourselves, on the other end people are being influenced

by a lot of things and they don't always get the facts straight. >> let's emphasize, this is the beginning -- or a continuation of a conversation that goes on, or it's going to continue online and in the nooms, a"newsroom." i was showing you some websites. i think we have, let's see to our producers can get this, some video that i actually went to mention. it's an iphone application. i have a picture from digital journal.com which is a website that tracks what's going on. it's called outbreaks near me. that's affiliated with health map.org. if you're traveling, it will send you an alert based on where you are saying here is what we know about the cases in the region you're traveling. they are creating these applications and this is what you're seeing now. this video is a sign of something that -- it's a new word i learned this week, infodemiology. >> infodemiology? sure. >> researchers are actively

working to make these websites part of what america and the world are using to fight this virus. they want people to share information as much as possible online as a way of fighting. infodemiology. >> thanks so much. helping to make us smarter this hour as did dr. william schaffner. thanks to him. sorry we lost that signal out of nashville, and also the hendi family, the maryland family that joined us earlier in the hour talking about how their kids were part of the clinical trials and so far so good. they've had the first dose of two for the h1n1 vaccine. i'm fredricka whitfield. i will see you again tomorrow. the next hour of the cnn "newsroom" with richard lui filling in for don lemon just minutes away. was it really for fun, or to save money on heat? why? don't you think nordic tuesday is fun? oh no, it's fun... you know, if you are trying to cut costs, fedex can help. we've got express options, fast ground and freight service-- you can save money and keep the heat on.

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