“If I could wave the vaccine magic wand or we could consult the Hogwarts Medical School, we’d have had a vaccine back in May,” said Jay Butler, MD. The director of the CDC’s H1N1 Vaccine Task Force was jokingly referring to the fictitious Hogwarts boarding school of wizardry in J.K. Rowling’s popular Harry Potter book series.

In the real world, the amount of time it took researchers and public health officials to develop and begin distribution of an H1N1 vaccine is on the faster end of the spectrum of what experts had predicted.

“We anticipated that it would probably be six to nine months after a pandemic is identified before a vaccine would actually be available,” Butler said. “Here we are, barely six months into the pandemic, and we’re starting to see vaccine available for administration.”

Today, the first doses of H1N1 vaccine arrived at hospitals in Memphis, Tenn. and Indianapolis, Ind. in the form of a nasal spray.

At these two locations, health care workers are getting vaccinated first. Local health officials said this is to prevent health care workers from getting sick and missing work at a time they are most needed, as well as to reduce the chances of them spreading the virus among hospital patients — who often have weakened immune systems.

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State and local governments have begun placing orders for H1N1 vaccine. The first 600-thousand doses will be distributed by Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than 250-million doses are expected over the course of the fall and early winter. Federal health officials say this will be enough to accommodate everyone who wants to get the vaccine, however its availability will be sporadic during the first days and weeks.

One of the top priorities during the initial phase of the vaccination campaign will be pregnant women. They are at much higher risk for suffering complications from H1N1 than from seasonal flu.

According to CDC figures released today, H1N1 has caused the deaths of 28 pregnant women in the U.S. so far, and is responsible for approximately 100 intensive care unit hospitalizations.

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by Faith Mangan, FNC Field Producer

Najibullah Zazi, 24, and his father, Mohammed Zazi, 53, had an initial appearance together before Judge Craig Shaffer in federal court in Denver today.  They are charged with knowingly and willfully making false statements to the FBI in a matter involving international and domestic terrorism.

Both defendents were escorted into the crowded courtroom in handcuffs.  The elder Zazi was clad in a grey t-shirt and running pants, while his son was in a short sleeved, button-down yellow, plaid shirt.  Before the official start, they each spent some time looking over sheets of paper, while quietly conferring with defense attorney Arthur Folsom.  The courtroom was packed early on with media representatives from all the main news organizations.  It was standing room only.

The hearing got underway with a request for a court appointed attorney for Mohammed Zazi.  The judge said he knew things had been busy for Arthur Folsom’s office, but he needs to be in good standing with this district to have an appearance in it.  Folsom said he had taken care of paperwork earlier in the day and the problem was that he was still credentialed under his last law firm.  The judge said he’d accept Folsom’s representation for today, but if he’s going to have future court appearances, the paperwork needs to be properly resolved going forward.

The initial appearance continued with the judge advising the defendants of their rights: the 5^th amendment (self-incrimination) and the 6^th amendment (right to counsel).  Najibullah indicated he intends to keep Folsom as his attorney.  Mohammed affirmed he wanted court-appointed counsel.  The judge reviewed Mohammed’s affidavit of financial need and said he qualifies for the help.

The judge then moved onto citizenship, stating if someone is not a citizen, he or she has a right to have the consular office contacted.  Both men are from Afghanistan. Najibullah is a legal resident of the United States, his father is a naturalized citizen of this country.

Folsom consulted with Najibullah and said they do not wish to have that done at this time, but they reserve the right in the future.  A representative from the public defender’s office then jumped in on behalf of Mohammed, even though the case has not yet been assigned to a particular attorney.

It was then time to go over the charge each of them is facing and the penalty if convicted, a potential 8 years imprisonment, $250,000 fine, and three years supervised release.

The men were told they’re entitled next to a preliminary hearing.  The government is not seeking detention of the father, Mohammed, but prosecutors do want to keep Najibullah in custody.  The judge set 9 a.m. MT on Thursday, September 24, 2009 as a preliminary and detention hearing for Najibullah.  Judge Shaffer said he understands evidence gathered under the Surveillance Act (known as FISA) is part of the case, and he asked if that would be a problem for Thursday.  Prosecutors said they did not expect it to be an issue.

Mohammed’s expected release was the next thing on the agenda.  The public defender pointed out Mohammed was having issues following along with the proceedings in English and asked for an interpreter next time.  Conditions for Mohammed’s release include: $50,000 unsecured bond (he does not have to post, but can forfeit that money if he violates conditions), he’ll have to report to a court officer on a regular basis, his travel is restricted to the state of Colorado and he has to get permission before crossing the state’s lines, he has to surrender his passport and may not obtain new travel documents, he can not become an informant without the court’s prior consent, he can not have firearms and he may not leave his home except for preset reasons such as employment, medical reasons, court appearances, education or religious reasons.  Mohammed must also pay the cost of electronic monitoring.  Even though the government does not intend to hold him on an ongoing basis, he cannot be released until his home is certified for electronic monitoring.  The judge set Thursday, September 24 for t a status conference to check up on progress towards Mohammed’s release.  The prosecution said they want the full amount of allowable time, 20 days, until they have to hold a preliminary hearing for Mohammed, because they are still collecting evidence and interviewing people.

The public defender who was present finished out the hearing by taking the podium to state Mohammed has not waived his right to counsel, so further attempts by law enforcement or the government to contact Mohammed Zazi must go through counsel.

Afterwards, outside the courtroom, the wall of silence returned. The prosecution team left without saying a word to reporters. The defense, would only say they will be back Thursday.

At a time H1N1 influenza has heightened awareness and concern about the spread of infectious diseases, two British companies — BAE Systems and Quest International UK — have announced new technology to inhibit the spread of pathogens on board aircraft.

The AirManager cabin air management system “eliminates all airborne viruses and bacteria,” according to a news release posted on BAE’s website. The company also writes:

The patented AirManager uses a revolutionary Close Coupled Field Technology (CCFT) – a contained and safe electrical field that eliminates smells, and breaks down and destroys airborne pathogens, contaminants and toxins.

BAE says it has successfully tested the filtration system on eight BAe 146 and Avro RJ aircraft. Both of these models are regional passenger jets. The company is currently conducting trials in much larger Boeing 757 jetliners and expects to design similar filters for use in two workhorses of commercial aviation — the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.

Even before H1N1, airline cabin air quality had come under scrutiny. Because jet engines have to work harder to pull in fresh air from outside, many aircraft recycle cabin air to reduce fuel costs. The practice has caused considerable debate within the aviation industry and the medical community as to whether it increases the transmission of disease.

BAE officials claim their AirManager will allow air conditioning systems to operate even more efficiently — essentially paying for the system in fuel conservation within the first year of use.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority has begun weekly cleaning of common areas to reduce the spread of flu among its estimated 1 million daily passengers. For more on that, and other H1N1-related information, see my Liveshots Blog.

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The Food and Drug Administration has approved the new H1N1 vaccine.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told Congress a limited number of doses may be distributed in early October, with a bulk shipment in the middle of that month.

This year’s response to H1N1 marks one of the fastest research and development phases of an influenza vaccine. In an interview earlier this month, Jay Butler, MD, director of the CDC’s H1N1 Vaccine Task Force told me:

I think the news is really good in terms of what we’ve been saying over the past several years — how we’ve planned, particularly at the state level, for the next pandemic. We’ve anticipated that a vaccine wouldn’t be available for about six to nine months after the first cases are identified. If, indeed, we can be getting vaccine out to the public by mid-October, we’re actually a little bit ahead of schedule.

Public health officials first discovered this H1N1 outbreak in April.

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