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(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.

(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.

Lancet study: Seasonal flu shot may protect against H1N1

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.

(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.

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

(CIDRAP News) – Pandemic flu activity continues its vigorous spread across the United States, with 48 states experiencing widespread activity and reports of 18 more deaths in children, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

Nov 5, 2009

A reanalysis prompted by reviewers has changed the conclusions of a study comparing N-95 respirators with surgical masks, raising questions about earlier findings that the N-95 devices were clearly more effective in protecting healthcare workers from respiratory illness.

(CIDRAP News) –An official from the World Health Organization (WHO) today said he expects serious cases and deaths as pandemic flu activity picks up in the Northern Hemisphere, and he warned people not to underestimate the virus, even though illnesses are often mild.

(CIDRAP News) – The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicted today that the current wave of H1N1 influenza is likely to begin to wane before the shortage of vaccine for it eases.

Dr. Thomas Frieden made the comment at a wide-ranging US House subcommittee session that aired the reasons for and impact of the vaccine delays and the prospects for avoiding a repeat of the problem. The session was streamed over the Web.

Norway OKs OTC antiviral salesTo ease response to the H1N1 pandemic, Norway is allowing over-the-counter sales of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza), the Associated Press (AP) reported. The new policy starts tomorrow and is in effect until the middle of 2010. Norway has ordered 9.4 million doses of vaccine, but the manufacturer has reportedly not produced enough to meet demand.

Nov 3, 2009

(CIDRAP News) – A study of California's most severely ill patients during the first 16 weeks of the novel H1N1 pandemic is in line with other recent studies that have shown two unique features of the virus—that it hits young people hard and that obesity appears to be a risk factor.