Washington, D.C., HIV Health Care Providers Prepare For Expected Swine Flu Surge

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

In Washington, D.C., where HIV prevalence stands at 3 percent, "HIV positive [residents] are bracing for the fall – and the flu," News8.net reports. According to NewsChannel 8, the "earliest possible vaccinations for swine flu are still a month away," and it "will first go to Americans at 'high risk' of serious complications, including children under two, pregnant women and people with health problems – including HIV." The district "government has provided stockpiles of testing kits, masks and Tamiflu medication to Whitman Walker," where half of the patients who visit are HIV positive. The clinic had one HIV-positive client die from the H1N1 virus this summer, according to Raymond Martins, chief medical officer at the clinic. "If there's a major outbreak, the staff will follow triage protocol," News8.net reports (9/1).