Welcome to Modern Healthcare's informational site on the H1N1 "swine flu" pandemic and other flu-related issues. The site will be updated regularly with news stories, studies and features on flu threats. Primary sources will be Modern Healthcare staff reporting as well as stories from other news organizations and reports from government sites and public health agencies.
By Jessica Zigmond | November 10, 2010
| Basic Web
H1N1 flu hospitalization rates were higher—while H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccination rates were lower—among African Americans, Hispanics and American Indian/Alaska Natives compared with whites, according to a new report from the Trust for America's Health. FULL STORY »
Flu vaccination of healthcare personnel is a patient-safety concern practice that should be a condition of both initial and continued employment at healthcare facilities, according to a position paper released by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, or SHEA. FULL STORY »
Participants in Joint Commission Resources' second annual Flu Vaccination Challenge have achieved employee influenza vaccination rates well above the national average, according to an announcement from the Oak Brook, Ill.-based not-for-profit organization. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | August 16, 2010
| Print Magazine
After the World Health Organization declared the H1N1 flu pandemic over last week, public health and hospital advocates evaluated the lessons they learned from the deadly outbreak to help them manage future public health disasters. FULL STORY »
The World Health Organization declared the swine flu pandemic officially over Tuesday, months after many national authorities started canceling vaccine orders and shutting down telephone hot lines as the disease ebbed from the headlines. FULL STORY »
A severe influenza pandemic could cost the U.S. healthcare system $290 billion, according to a new report sponsored by the Society of Actuaries. The report stressed the need for disaster planning and pandemic preparedness, particularly on the part of health insurers. FULL STORY »
Even though the seasonal flu vaccination rate among healthcare workers for 2009-10 has been higher than any previous flu season, H1N1 vaccination coverage among this population was still below half, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. FULL STORY »
A recent increase in H1N1 flu activity and related hospitalizations in Georgia triggered an update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the disease that has now claimed about 12,000 lives in the U.S. FULL STORY »
By Jennifer Lubell | February 13, 2010
| Basic Web
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is estimating that between 41 million and 84 million cases of the deadly H1N1 flu virus have occurred in the U.S. between April 2009 and Jan. 16 of this year. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | February 05, 2010
| Basic Web
The deadly H1N1 flu virus seems to have leveled off in the past three weeks, but the disease continues to cause hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S., an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a news conference. FULL STORY »
Although just four states are reporting widespread activity of the deadly H1N1 virus, an official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly urged all Americans to receive the H1N1 vaccine, now that doses are widely available. FULL STORY »
The year was marked by intense concern over the H1N1 flu outbreak. In June, the World Health Organization announces a global flu pandemic related to the virus that emerged in the U.S. in late April. Popularly referred to as “swine flu,” the disease arrives just as former Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius takes the helm of HHS. By the fall, the federal government draws praise for its efforts to combat the outbreak even as officials worry about the nation’s ability to cope with the disease. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | December 17, 2009
| Basic Web
The nation's top public health officials urged the American public to get the H1N1 vaccine and said that available vaccine doses are expected to reach the 100 million mark this week. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | December 16, 2009
| Basic Web
Although the number of states reporting widespread transmission of the H1N1 flu has dropped to 14, it is still important for Americans to get vaccinated against the seasonal and H1N1 flu strains, said some of the nation's leading public health officials in a discussion hosted by HHS. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | December 14, 2009
| Basic Web
Despite a global flu pandemic, American adults are not being vaccinated against the flu any more than they were a year ago, a new study showed last week. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | December 14, 2009
| Print Magazine
As public health experts continue to emphasize the unpredictability of the H1N1 flu virus, federal agencies and healthcare companies alike are developing a host of surveillance systems to better understand the deadly strain and its effect on the American public—as well as open new business lines. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | December 10, 2009
| Basic Web
About 15% of the entire U.S. population—or 1 in 6 persons—have been infected by the H1N1 virus since the disease emerged seven months ago, according to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. FULL STORY »
By Andis Robeznieks | December 09, 2009
| Basic Web
Despite increased public discussion about the importance of being vaccinated against the flu, this year's seasonal influenza vaccination rate for adults will likely mirror last year's, according to a new RAND Corp. report. FULL STORY »
Early research shows no increase in a rare neurological condition associated with the vaccine developed to combat the H1N1 pandemic, CDC Director Thomas Frieden said during a weekly briefing with reporters on the influenza strain also known as swine flu. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | December 01, 2009
| Basic Web
Assessing current flu activity in the U.S., the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that while the presence of flu may have fallen, it is far from gone. FULL STORY »
A federal judge has declined to prevent HCA from implementing a flu-vaccine policy in five hospitals in Northern California despite anecdotal evidence presented by a workers’ union that the policy was exposing workers to negative public attention. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | November 20, 2009
| Basic Web
Although average flu activity in the U.S. has declined slightly in the past week, the level of flu activity remains higher than normal for this time of year, said a top official for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. FULL STORY »
A federal judge has declined to prevent HCA from implementing a flu-vaccine policy in five hospitals in Northern California despite anecdotal evidence presented by a workers' union that the policy was exposing workers to negative public attention. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | November 10, 2009
| Basic Web
The head of the Food and Drug Administration is urging healthcare professionals to report any adverse effects they believe might be linked to the H1N1 influenza vaccine to the agency's Vaccine Event Reporting System. FULL STORY »
Sanofi-aventis CEO Chris Viehbacher and Sanofi Pasteur President and CEO Wayne Pisano plan to discuss the challenges of manufacturing H1N1, or swine flu, vaccine, during a webcast conference starting at 2:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, Nov. 11. David Greenberg, senior director of scientific and medical affairs at Sanofi Pasteur, will provide new data from adult and pediatric clinical trials of the U.S. licensed vaccine. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | November 03, 2009
| Basic Web
Severe illness from the H1N1 virus can occur at all ages, with about 30% of hospitalized cases requiring treatment in an intensive-care unit, says a new study in the Nov. 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. FULL STORY »
In a legal battle pitting the nation’s largest healthcare union against the nation’s largest hospital owner, bargaining units of the Service Employees International Union are suing Nashville-based HCA over the system’s goal of having all of its direct-care workers receive flu shots. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | November 03, 2009
| Basic Web
The American College of Emergency Physicians—together with HHS' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and its Emergency Care Coordination Center—have developed a set of guidelines to help the public determine if their flu-like symptoms merit an emergency-department visit. FULL STORY »
As state health departments and healthcare providers wait for more shipments of the H1N1 flu vaccine to arrive, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports there are 24.8 million doses available as of Thursday, an increase of 1.6 million doses since Wednesday. FULL STORY »
The federal government last week drew praise for its efforts so far to combat the H1N1 flu outbreak even as officials worried about the nation’s ability to cope with the disease. FULL STORY »
By Associated Press | October 24, 2009
| Basic Web
President Barack Obama has declared the H1N1 “swine flu” outbreak a national emergency. Officials said the proclamation would allow medical officials to bypass certain federal requirements, describing the move as similar to a declaration ahead of a hurricane making landfall. FULL STORY »
The state of New York has reversed course on an earlier decision mandating that healthcare workers receive flu shots, as State Health Commissioner Richard Daines has suspended the requirement. FULL STORY »
With 46 states reporting widespread flu activity, the leader for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the H1N1 virus has now caused more than 1,000 deaths and more than 20,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. FULL STORY »
The American Medical Association has launched a new Web site intended to help patients determine the severity of their flu symptoms and share information with their physician. FULL STORY »
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) lauded the efforts of three Cabinet departments in managing the spread of the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak, but also expressed concerns about a delay in vaccine production, the capacity of hospitals and health departments to handle a surge in hospital visits, and the availability of intravenous anti-viral medications for those patients who need it. FULL STORY »
When the deadly H1N1 influenza virus emerged last spring, federal health officials reported a fact that surprised many Americans: About 36,000 people in the U.S. die from the seasonal flu each year. FULL STORY »
By Jean DerGurahian | October 13, 2009
| Basic Web
Some nurses in New York state are preparing to fight a state mandate that requires healthcare workers to receive the flu vaccine this year. FULL STORY »
As 37 states reported widespread flu activity for the week of Oct. 5—up from 27 the week before—an official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said nearly all of those cases have been identified as the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus, and a vaccine is still the best protection against the deadly disease. FULL STORY »
Thirty-seven states are reporting widespread flu activity—up from 27 last week—and nearly all of the cases have been identified as the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. FULL STORY »
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said he expects the distribution of the vaccine for the deadly H1N1 virus—which began this week—to be a bumpy process, but that the vaccine will soon be widely available. FULL STORY »
State and local health agencies must develop protocols that guide providers on how to allocate scarce resources during public health crises, such as terrorist attacks or pandemics, the Institute of Medicine said in a new report to HHS, which commissioned the study. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | September 21, 2009
| Basic Web
Before the World Health Organization declared a global flu pandemic in June, a sampling of states and localities showed they had not implemented an electronic medical system for managing medical volunteers in a surge, says a new report from the HHS inspector general's office. FULL STORY »
By Associated Press | September 19, 2009
| Basic Web
Global production of swine flu vaccines will be "substantially less" than the previous maximum forecast of 94 million doses a week, the World Health Organization said Friday.The number of doses produced in a year will therefore fall short of the 4.9 billion doses the global health body previously hoped could be available for the pandemic, WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told reporters in Geneva.Production will be lower because some manufacturers are still turning out vaccines for seasonal flu—an illness that can be serious in sick and elderly people, Hartl said. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | September 18, 2009
| Basic Web
Vaccination of healthcare workers against the deadly H1N1 flu virus plays an important role in quality of care, said an epidemiologist who leads the H1N1 vaccine task force at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | September 16, 2009
| Basic Web
The Food and Drug Administration said it has approved four vaccines against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, popularly known as swine flu, which caused the World Health Organization to declare a global flu pandemic this summer. FULL STORY »
By Jessica Zigmond | September 03, 2009
| Basic Web
To reduce the risk of infection, healthcare workers who are in close contact with individuals who have the influenza H1N1, or swine flu, virus should use fit-tested N95 respirators or other respirators that are shown to be more effective, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine. FULL STORY »
