Pandemic Influenza

(CIDRAP News) – President Barack Obama warned today that a larger wave of novel H1N1 influenza is likely this fall and called on all Americans to prepare for it.

"I don't want anybody to be alarmed, but I do want everybody to be prepared," Obama said in a Rose Garden statement after a meeting with several cabinet secretaries to discuss the pandemic.

(CIDRAP News) – A White House expert advisory group's report on influenza preparedness on Aug 24 contained many recommendations, such as appointing a flu czar, but its illness and death projections seem to be drawing most of the public's attention.

(CIDRAP News) – If schoolchildren have to stay home for extended periods because of H1N1 flu, there are options for making sure they keep up their studies, the US Department of Education said yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – A White House expert advisory group today released a report calling for the Obama Administration to accelerate novel H1N1 vaccination preparation for high-risk Americans and appoint a White House pandemic preparedness point person, among other recommendations.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal officials today released new guidance to help businesses prepare for an expected resurgence of novel H1N1 activity during the upcoming influenza season, a document that clarifies how long sick workers should stay home and suggests ways to keep employees safe and business disruptions at a minimum.

(CIDRAP News) – On the second and final day of an Institute of Medicine (IOM) task force meeting on how to protect healthcare workers from the novel H1N1 virus, experts focused on issues surrounding the effectiveness and practical use of masks and respirators in work settings.

The IOM task force's goal is to make recommendations about how to protect healthcare workers during the H1N1 pandemic.

(CIDRAP News) – A task force of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), charged with making recommendations about how to protect healthcare workers against novel H1N1 influenza, today heard a variety of evidence that respirators and masks can shield healthcare workers (HCWs) and others from getting respiratory illnesses.

Aug 11, 2009

(CIDRAP News) – Federal officials recommended today that schools should not close down during novel H1N1 influenza outbreaks, though they emphasized that the advice is a guideline and that decisions should be made based on local conditions.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that the fast-tracking of vaccines for pandemic H1N1 influenza won't compromise safety, while acknowledging that clinical data will be limited when the first doses are administered.