(CIDRAP News) Production delays are cutting into federal pandemic vaccinesupply projections at a time when virus activity is widespread in 41 states and children's deaths are spiraling, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.
Since August, federal officials have predicted that 45 million pandemic vaccine doses would be available by mid October, but today the CDC said the total so far is 11.4 million.
(CIDRAP News) Top state health officials said today they have been kept busy battling rumors and myths about the pandemic H1N1 vaccine, on top of the demanding work of coordinating the vaccination program just getting under way.
(CIDRAP News) Businesses that take steps to protect workers during a pandemic have worried about staying in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and federal officials have responded by issuing new guidance that addresses many of the issues.
(CIDRAP News) States will begin receiving their first injectable doses of the pandemic H1N1 vaccine next week and can look forward to plentiful and steady supplies over the next 2 weeks, federal officials said today.
This information may help firm up mass vaccination schedules and clear up the public's confusion about when they can get the shot, the officials added.
Oct 2, 2009
(CIDRAP News) Though the nation is going into its second wave of the H1N1 pandemic armed with crucial improvements such as better vaccine capacity, remaining challenges in medical surge and vaccine distribution could hamper response now and into a third wave, preparedness experts said today.
(CIDRAP News) The current public health advice that Americans should get their seasonal flu shots early this year has prompted some to voice concern that their protection will fade later in the season. But medical literature and disease experts indicate there is no good evidence that immunity conferred by the shots wanes so quickly.
(CIDRAP News) The pandemic H1N1 virus is spreading widely through the United States, and as health officials feverishly prepare to distribute the first vaccine doses due to arrive in early October, the public should expect some initial bumps in the road, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.
(CIDRAP News) Canadian researchers reportedly have found as-yet-unpublished evidence that people who had a seasonal flu shot last year incurred a higher risk of H1N1 infection, but US and World Health Organization (WHO) officials say they are not aware of any similar findings elsewhere.
(CIDRAP News) With so much uncertainty over how broad and severe the next wave of H1N1 influenza could be, now is the time to focus on the two top goals of saving and sustaining lives, Dr. Julie Gerberding, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told business groups today.
