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(CIDRAP News) – Federal officials, along with representatives from four vaccine companies, appeared before two US House of Representatives committees today to answer questions about why the nation hasn't stretched scarce pandemic vaccine supply with adjuvants and if a more federally directed distribution system might help vaccine get to more high-risk patients.

(CIDRAP News) – Leaders of the US Senate Homeland Security Committee sharply critiqued the federal government's H1N1 vaccination strategy yesterday, saying health officials should have recommended targeting only the highest-risk groups as soon as the vaccine delays came to light.

Making paid sick leave a national standard is crucial to controlling the H1N1 pandemic and future epidemics, public health and business experts told Congress Tuesday.

(CIDRAP News) – After input from professional groups, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its guidance for managing pandemic flu in labor and delivery settings, relaxing some restrictions on keeping sick moms from their babies.

Nov 17, 2009

Nov 16, 2009

Nov 16, 2009

(CIDRAP News) –Pandemic activity is showing early signs of peaking in some parts of North America, but is on the rise in several European countries as well as those in Central and Eastern Asia, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today.

Nov 13, 2009

(CIDRAP News) – Today's weekly influenza reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contain some hints that the fall wave of H1N1 flu may have crested, though cases are still widespread over most of the country.

Lancet study: Seasonal flu shot may protect against H1N1

(CIDRAP News) – Citing reports that hospitals and clinics in some countries are being overwhelmed by pandemic influenza cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) today put an exclamation on its advice about the importance of prompt antiviral treatment for high-risk patients.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today unveiled a new counting method that significantly increases the estimated numbers of pandemic HIN1 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. At the same time, the agency said it will receive only about half the vaccine it expected this week.

"Expect the unexpected." I'm sticking with this mantra for the H1N1 influenza pandemic. I'd like to suggest you do, too—especially now.

It's hard to believe that less than a year ago, we were talking about pandemic planning fatigue. Now it's as if we're experiencing pandemic presence fatigue.

(CIDRAP News) – In an effort to gauge how pandemic vaccine messages are being received outside the Washington, DC, beltway, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) yesterday held a tabletop exercise in Minneapolis and included participants from local media outlets and public health departments.

Nov 11, 2009

(CIDRAP News) – After a slow start in producing H1N1 flu vaccine, Sanofi Pasteur has improved yields threefold and expects to fulfill its government order for 75 million doses by the end of the year, company officials said today.

Vaccine maker donates 50 million doses
Pharmaceuticals manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline will donate 50 million doses of H1N1 vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO) for distribution to countries that cannot afford to buy it, the WHO said today. The agency said that 95 countries are eligible to receive the vaccine and it hopes to procure enough vaccine to cover 10% of their populations.

Editor's note: This story was revised after initial posting to specify which arm of the CDC issued the statement described.

(CIDRAP News) – Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday rejected a contention from several professional groups that its guidance on respiratory protection for healthcare workers caring for H1N1 patients was influenced by a recent controversial study by Australian researchers.

Pandemic guide for HR professionals released