CIDRAP

• “The more I learn about flu, the less I know,” said Michael Osterholm PhD, MPH, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
• More people will die from the non-pandemic aspects of such a global health crisis.
• The US economy is so inextricably linked to other countries, especially China’s, that a pandemic would paralyze supply chains for both consumer and medical goods.
• A pandemic would bring “unprecedented employee absenteeism,” Osterholm said.
• Consider that 30 of the most common generic medicines currently used in the United States are wholly or partially manufactured in China. “Look at what happened with saline bags in Puerto Rico,” said Osterholm.
• Arnold Monto, MD, from the University of Michigan:  Modern tools, including the flu vaccine, would mean it’s unlikely the 1918 pandemic could ever be repeated.
• Luciana Borio, MD, of the White House National Security Council, confirmed that China is not currently sharing flu vaccine strain information nor any progress made on its development of a universal flu vaccine.
• Trust for America’s Health (TFAH’s) annual readiness report, “Ready or Not?” :  TFAH President and CEO John Auerbach, MBA, said no states were completely prepared for a pandemic (based on 11 criteria, and ranked from 1 to 10). Only five states had a preparedness ranking of 8 or 9, and half sat at a 5 or lower. The report was published in December.
• Dwindling public health department budgets are a problem
• Nancy Messonnier, MD, head of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said that despite gaps in preparedness, the CDC is better equipped to handle a flu pandemic now than it was in 2009, when a novel H1N1 flu strain first emerged. Technologies, including mobile apps that help consumers find flu shots, and antivirals are putting the power to prevent and fight flu into patients’ hands.