News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) takes a hit of about $270 million in the Obama administration's proposed fiscal year 2014 budget, including significant cuts to biodefense and emergency preparedness programs, officials revealed today.

(CIDRAP News) - Low demand for flu vaccine in previous years could limit the supply of vaccine, leaving the nation unprepared for a year when levels are higher, according to a new analysis of flu vaccine trends and policies by Trust for America's Health (TFAH), a nonprofit health advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

(CIDRAP News) – New York's governor has declared a health emergency to funnel more resources to battle high levels of flu activity, including an executive order that temporarily allows pharmacists to vaccinate children younger than 18 years old.

(CIDRAP News) – Signs of an increasingly severe flu season prompted city officials to declare a public health emergency in Boston, where infections have increased tenfold compared with last season.

(CIDRAP News) – The brisk pace of flu activity in Canada and the United States has triggered concerns about possible oseltamivir (Tamiflu) shortages, with a Canadian announcement today of the drug’s release from the national stockpile and news that some parts of the United States may face low supplies of the liquid suspension for kids.

(CIDRAP News) – The House of Representative's final approval last night of a deal to stave off severe "fiscal cliff" budget cuts protects public health preparedness funding, at least for the next 2 months.

(CIDRAP News) – Increased surveillance in recent years has begun to fill in some of the huge information gaps regarding influenza in Africa, which should eventually make it possible to develop or improve public health interventions, according to a big collection of articles published recently in the Journal of Infectious Diseases (JID).