News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – A government advisory committee yesterday endorsed the safety and immunogenicity of an adjuvant-containing H5N1 influenza vaccine proposed for inclusion in the US pandemic emergency stockpile, signaling that it could become the first adjuvanted flu vaccine to win approval in the United States.

(CIDRAP News) – Armed with lessons learned during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, government leaders in North America and Europe this week launched new guidance aimed at boosting preparedness for the next influenza pandemic.

(CIDRAP News) – In two new reports, the Canadian government gives itself a generally good grade for its response to the H1N1 pandemic but also lists many areas for improvement.

"Overall, the response of [health authorities] to the H1N1 pandemic is considered to have been effective," says the Public Health Agency of Canada's (PHAC's) report, released yesterday. The report covers the actions of that agency and of Health Canada.

(CIDRAP News) – More than 15,000 Canadians were hospitalized with pandemic influenza last year, thousands more than in a typical year, which prompted hospitals to cope by employing such steps as reducing the number of planned admissions, according to a report from a government-funded research institute.