re: Does tamiflu work as a preventative?

quote:

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Must not have hit AZ as hard as in the South.

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I haven't read the most recent bulletin, so I'm a week out of date, but LA was at the top of the list of flu rate. Something like 85% vs 15% flu A vs B (don't quote me on that one, but I think I'm close and know that it's heavily A-dominant). H3N2 predominant, but the strain in the North American vaccine only accounted for about 35% of the H3N2 (which is the majority of the Flu A infections, by something like 95 to 5 %, H1N1 similar to the 2009 strain being the other) circulating. The other 65% of H3N2 was covered in the Southern Hemisphere flu vaccine but not here in the US.


Given the prevalence of flu in LA (assuming that's where OP is) and it being Christmas time, it's actually pretty reasonable to just go ahead and just save the money on the test to put toward treatment (even if it's all covered by insurance, it's better to keep healthcare costs across the board down), especially when the entire family will be prophylaxed- also a totally reasonable move for the time of year, since now the kid who wasn't sick may get sick, but the parents will feel better because they're already being treated and are thought to be less likely to re-present to the ED. This is really where medicine becomes an art rather than a science. And in this case, it seems to have annoyed the parent rather than keep them calmer/more comfortable, which is unfortunate. But there was likely a lot more thought behind the decision than is being appreciated. I could definitely be wrong, and the NP definitely could have been a moron. But most of the "morons" I have met in my short time in medicine are pretty smart people who simply forget or choose not to take the time to explain why they are treating the patient the way that they do. The majority of the rest are just caught on the wrong end of a no-win situation where they're held responsible. And yes, there are a few genuinely moronic people who I do not understand how they have the job that they do. They've been the minority in my limited experience.