News & Perspective

Editor's Note: CIDRAP's Promising Practices: Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Tools online database showcases peer-reviewed practices, including useful tools to help others with their planning. This article is one of a biweekly series exploring the development of these practices. We hope that describing the process and context of these practices enhances pandemic planning.

(CIDRAP News) – Experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Influenza Vaccine Summit (NIVS) in a teleconference today urged clinicians to consider extending their seasonal flu vaccination efforts through March and shared strategies for immunizing more patients during office visits.

(CIDRAP News)

Introductory remarksJohn Barry's commentary

(CIDRAP News) – The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Pediatric Advisory Committee voted today to recommend stronger label warnings for two antiviral influenza medications—oseltamivir and zanamivir—that have been linked to reports of neuropsychiatric problems in children and teens, mainly in Japan.

Oseltamivir already carries a warning, but zanamivir currently carries no warning about reported neuropsychiatric effects.

(CIDRAP News) – A World Health Organization (WHO) group that recently met to work out an agreement to ease the global sharing of H5N1 avian influenza viruses failed to resolve the issue, but signaled that work on the issues would continue.

Editor's Note: This article is one of an occasional series exploring the development of public health practices included in the CIDRAP Promising Practices: Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Tools online database. We hope that describing the process and context that drove development of these practices serves as a valuable tool for pandemic planning.