At this early stage, there are more questions than answers, so we recommend that you monitor the CDC website as your first source for the latest news. Also, as the CDC recommends, please rely on your state and local authorities in regards to activity and recommendations.

To augment these sources, we will provide information as we receive it from the manufacturers regarding vaccine production, timelines, and how this new strain will be handled. We will also provide global news reports that may offer additional insight to help you prepare for the possibility of an epidemic or worst-case scenario — a pandemic.

For example, a breaking news report from Australia cites heightened concerns about the swine flu outbreak. Because Australia is currently on the brink of its winter season (a peak time for the flu virus), concerns about an epidemic are much more widespread.

Read Full Article

In addition, please find below some pertinent news, in keeping with our commitment to bring you up-to-date information as decisions are made regarding vaccine production, as well as breaking global news.

U.S. to have H1N1 vaccine ready by
fall – official
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) — The U.S. government expects to have flu vaccines ready for both the new strain of the H1N1 virus and the seasonal flu by autumn, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Sunday.

Sebelius said the government is accelerating production of vaccine against the seasonal flu, which is expected to infect millions of Americans.

"At the same time, we're growing the virus and testing the virus to attack H1N1 and we'll be production-ready when it's time to go," she said on NBC's Meet the Press.

Read Full Article

Regular flu shots this fall, maybe swine jab too
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans might have to line up twice next winter for flu shots — once for the regular jab and again later for swine flu protection.

"If a vaccine for this new virus is prepared, it would be prepared either in parallel with or after the seasonal vaccine is already produced," Nancy Cox, flu chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday. "We would be able to have the seasonal vaccine and then if necessary as a supplemental vaccine against the new swine flu virus."

Regardless, expect to get the regular flu shot. Manufacturers already have a lot of it brewed in advance of fall inoculation campaigns.

Read Full Article

Swine flu leaves southern hemisphere out in cold
SAO PAULO (AP) — The Southern Hemisphere has been mostly spared in the swine flu epidemic. That could change soon as winter sets in with no vaccine in place, leaving half the planet out in the cold.

So far, the most affected nations have been in North America and Europe, which are heading into summer. But flu is spread more easily in the winter and it's already sweater weather down south. Experts fear public health systems could be overwhelmed — especially if swine flu and regular flu collide in major urban populations.

Read Full Article