News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Federal health officials are in the midst of crafting a framework for funding H5N1 avian influenza gain-of-function studies, and today at a workshop they heard varied feedback from researchers, biosecurity experts, and others.

In the wake of a newspaper investigation that questioned the value of the federal BioWatch program for detecting dangerous airborne pathogens, some public health officials familiar with the program acknowledge that it's far from perfect, but they say it's not time to scrap it.

(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) – The Institute of Medicine (IOM) yesterday shared findings of three public opinion panels on antiviral distribution during a flu pandemic, including a nod for establishing diverse alternative strategies and support for Web and cell-phone information.

(CIDRAP News) – Stronger public health funding could stem rising spending on healthcare and not only improve the nation's health but also its economic standing, an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report said yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – Positioning supplies of antibiotics in communities has been proposed as the next step to prepare for a Bacillus anthracis attack, and state and local public health officials are in the best position to determine where and how they should be stored, an Institute of Medicine (IOM) expert group reported today.

(CIDRAP News) – A report released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) offers yet another review of lessons from the federal government's response to the H1N1 influenza pandemic while detailing how the government spent, and is still spending, $6.15 billion that was appropriated for the response.