influenza | Blogs

5 Good Reasons to Get a Flu Vaccine This Season

Flu vaccine: We all have a role in protecting each other.

The National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) is a national awareness week focused on highlighting the importance of influenza vaccination. As flu viruses and the virus that causes COVID-19 can spread this season, getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever. Here are five reasons why you should: 1. Helps Keep You Healthy Flu can Read More >

December 7, 2020 by Blog Administrator9 Comments

Flu, General, preparedness, prevention, response

#FightFlu, #prepyourhealth, #SleeveUp, COVID-19, flu, influenza, National Influenza Vaccination Week, personal health, public health

Probabilities, Not Promises: How Computer Models are Used in Emergency Preparedness & Response

Computer models are not crystal balls. They are the result of a set of variables going through mathematical algorithms. What comes out is a simulation of what might happen if present truths are accurate predictors of future trends. Models show probabilities; they don’t make promises. Models have many applications. Epidemiologists use them to predict disease Read More >

July 13, 2020 by Blog Administrator2 Comments

Disease Outbreak, Flu, General, natural disasters, preparedness, prevention, response

CDC, Center for Preparedness and Response (CPR), disaster response, emergency preparedness, flu, Hurricane, influenza, natural disasters, outbreak, pandemic, preparedness, public health, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program, weather

Five Things You Need to Know About Flu Season

Sick boy with thermometer laying in bed and mother hand taking temperature. Mother checking temperature of her sick son who has thermometer in his mouth. Sick child with fever and illness while resting in bed.

“It’s the least-fun, viral time of the year…” The indicators that CDC uses to track U.S. flu activity have been high this season (2019-2020). That’s the bad news. The good news is that the indicators that track severity–hospitalizations and deaths–are not high at this point (January 2020) in the season. Lots of people are catching Read More >

January 22, 2020 by Blog Administrator2 Comments

Flu, General, preparedness, prevention

#prepyourhealth, flu season, illness, influenza, personal health, public health, seasonal flu, surveillance, vaccine

10 Years Later: The Lasting Impacts of the H1N1 Flu Pandemic Response

This highly magnified transmission electron microscopic (TEM) image depicted numbers of virions from a novel influenza H1N1 isolate.

As coincidence would have it, Dr. Stephen Redd was wrapping up an influenza (flu) pandemic planning meeting on April 15, 2009, when someone on the phone reported that a new (or novel) influenza A virus had infected a 10-year-old boy in California. Things moved fast after that. The Response Two days after CDC confirmed the Read More >

April 15, 2019 by Blog Administrator16 Comments

Flu, preparedness, prevention, response

Emergency Operations Center, flu, H1N1, influenza, Influenza Risk Assessment Tool, pandemic, Pandemic Severity Assessment Framework, personal health, public health, seasonal flu, Stephen Redd, vaccine

Partnerships Help Save Lives When Disaster Strikes

Package of Oseltamivir (i.e., Tamiflu) capsules.

Public health emergencies occur every day across the United States. Tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, floods, infectious disease outbreaks, terrorist attacks, and other emergencies have all occurred within the past few years and likely will happen again. Communities must be ready in the event of a public health emergency – both those they expect and those that Read More >

November 5, 2018 by Germaine M. Vazquez, MS, Health Communication Specialist, Center for Preparedness and Response, Division of State and Local ReadinessLeave a comment

Flu, General, natural disasters, preparedness, response

California, emergency, flu, Illinois, influenza, Maine, PHEP, public health, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program, Sonoma County, Stories from the Field, Tamiflu, Vinylhaven, Waterborne, wildfire

3 Reasons Why Handwashing Should Matter to You

Unseen woman washing her hands with soap in a sink.

Most of us are familiar with the parental-like voice in the back of our minds that helps guide our decision-making—asking us questions like, “Have you called your grandmother lately?” For many that voice serves as a gentle, yet constant reminder to wash our hands. Handwashing with soap and water is one of the most important Read More >

October 15, 2018 by David M. Berendes, PhD, MSPH, Epidemiologist15 Comments