Governor Teams Up With PBS 'Sid' for H1N1 Ads

From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeighKentucky is joining a national public service campaign touting the importance of swine flu vaccines, especially for children.In Kentucky, the TV ads feature Gov. Steve Beshear and Sid the Science Kid of PBS. Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta says Kentucky is one of 14 states still reporting widespread cases of H1N1, or swine flu.“We’re seeing that about one-in-six Americans have already become ill from his virus," says Schuchat. "And unfortunately, 71-thousand children have been hospitalized. In most years, with seasonal flu, only about 20-thousand children require hospitalization for flu. So, this has really been a hard year already and we often think that flu season can last until May.”Schuchat says swine flu vaccine is safe, effective and more readily available, so now is a good time for more people, especially children, to get vaccinated.