(CIDRAP News) A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel yesterday recommended that the agency approve a smallpox vaccine made by British biotechnology company Acambis plc that is currently being stockpiled for the US government.
(CIDRAP News) At first glance, the Web page looks like an overhead shot of a fantastic game board: a mapidentifiably Los Angelessprinkled with faceted roundels in a half-dozen colors.
(CIDRAP News) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) today released a 3-day online course to teach state and local public health officials how to respond to human cases of H5N1 avian influenza.
(CIDRAP News) The dispute over the sharing of H5N1 avian influenza samples was high on the agenda as the annual meeting of World Health Organization (WHO) member countries began today in Geneva.
(CIDRAP News) A recent survey sponsored by the American Public Health Association (APHA) indicates that about a third of Americans have made no preparations for a public health emergency and nearly 90% have prepared less than they think they should.
(CIDRAP News) Though there is little scientific evidence to go on, wearing a surgical face mask may make sense for people who have to go into crowded public places during an influenza pandemic, federal health officials said today.
(CIDRAP News) The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the creation of a new assistant commissioner position to provide guidance on food safety and defense strategies.
(CIDRAP News) The World Health Organization (WHO) says nations and vaccine manufacturers agreed yesterday that it may be feasible to set up a world stockpile of H5N1 influenza vaccine and find a way to ensure that developing countries could access pandemic flu vaccine supplies.
(CIDRAP News) Bavarian Nordic, a Danish company, announced this week that the US government plans to buy 20 million doses of the company's Imvamune smallpox vaccine, but a US official said no decision has been made yet.
Imvamune is Bavarian's version of modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA), which is considered safer than the conventional smallpox vaccine, particularly for people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women, and children.
(CIDRAP News) Governmental plans for an influenza pandemic are missing an important opportunity to improve US preparedness, according to two new reports: They are not reaching out to communities and grass-roots groups that could refine plan details and increase public support.
