Jan 20, 2005 (CIDRAP News) Researchers who analyzed numerous clinical trials concluded that the two newest antiviral drugs for influenza, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza), should not routinely be used against seasonal flua recommendation flatly rejected by the manufacturer of oseltamivir.
Jan 13, 2005 (CIDRAP News) – Delegates from about 20 Asian countries today concluded a 2-day meeting in Tokyo focusing on early response measures to use if avian influenza shows signs of evolving into a human flu pandemic.
Jan 12, 2005 (CIDRAP News) The federal government today announced the release of $100 million appropriated by Congress recently to help states prepare for a potential influenza pandemic.
The money is the first installment of $350 million included in the $3.8 billion emergency appropriation for pandemic preparedness that Congress passed in late December, said Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt.
(CIDRAP News) – Pandemic planning strategies have been brought to a personal level with the release yesterday of a guide from the federal government outlining actions that individuals and families can take to protect themselves.
(CIDRAP News) Before adjourning last week, the US Senate passed and sent to President Bush a bill providing $3.8 billion for pandemic influenza preparedness and a controversial liability shield for those who produce and administer drugs and vaccines used in a declared public health emergency.
(CIDRAP News) The US House of Representatives early today approved $3.8 billion in funds for pandemic influenza preparedness, well below the $7.1 billion requested by President George W. Bush in November.
(CIDRAP News) – National health officials came to Minnesota today to launch what was billed as the first of 50 state pandemic influenza planning meetings around the nation, emphasizing the key roles of state and local governments as partners with the federal government.
The general theme of the half-day conference was that much, if not most, of the real work of preparing for a pandemic must be done at the local and state levels.
(CIDRAP News) – Large businesses should examine their sick-leave policies and figure out ways to limit face-to-face contact, among many other steps to prepare for an influenza pandemic, according to a planning checklist released by federal health agencies this week.
(CIDRAP News) If public health emergency preparedness were a college class, the federal government would be considered a poor pupil by the nonprofit organization Trust For America's Health (TFAH), which gives the government a D+ in a new report released yesterday.
That grade was based on a survey of 20 leading public health experts, who used 12 criteria to measure preparedness.
(CIDRAP News) State health officials at a Washington, DC, meeting yesterday expressed frustration over problems with supplies of seasonal flu vaccine, while federal officials promised that the government's pandemic influenza preparedness plan will help clear up those problems.
