News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Phone-based flu lines that operated during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic increased public flu knowledge, may have prevented unnecessary 911 calls and visits to health facilities, and eased access to antivirals when appropriate, a recent report found.

(CIDRAP News) – Although antiviral drugs were used to treat many seriously sick people during the H1N1 influenza pandemic, experts at a conference today said they could have been used more widely and that some opportunities to learn from their use were missed.

(CIDRAP News) – A workshop summary released today by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) offers a wide range of observations and suggestions about what worked well and not so well during the pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccination campaign—a complex, months-long operation with a cast of thousands.

(CIDRAP News) – As pandemic flu activity across the nation wanes, federal health officials are already reviewing the government's response and lessons learned to help blunt the impact of the next national public health emergency, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – Though the nation is going into its second wave of the H1N1 pandemic armed with crucial improvements such as better vaccine capacity, remaining challenges in medical surge and vaccine distribution could hamper response now and into a third wave, preparedness experts said today.