White House officials said today that getting ready for the flu in the fall, whether it is seasonal flu or the ongoing H1N1 swine flu outbreak, is a “shared responsibility” for which the Obama Administration also announced new funding for a states and nationwide flu prevention campaign.
At an H1N1 Influenza Preparedness Summit earlier today, 9th July, held at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, delegates from 54 states, tribes and territories joined with Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to launch the campaign.
The White House team said it was time to start preparing and making plans and as the day unfolded they described the various ways that states and local authorities could do this, with new programs and resources aimed at helping all levels get ready for H1N1 and the flu season in the fall.
The first point they tackled was that the HHS will be giving out a total of 350 million dollars in grants funded by Congress in the latest supplemental appropriations bill. They will also be giving out additional resources to state and local public health offices and health care systems.
The second point the White House administrators made at the summit was the launch of the new centralized federal government website www.flu.gov. This will run like a “one-stop” communications hub on all matters relating to H1N1 and seasonal flu, bringing together information from across the HHS and other federal agencies.
And the third point they made was that the HHS is launching a new PSA (public service announcement) campaign contest to encourage more Americans to get involved in the national flu preparedness effort. This will comprise announcements lasting 15 and 30 seconds that will appeal to the “shared responsibility” theme that officials at the summit took pains to stress should be the central plank of the campaign. They urged those interested in taking part in the contest to tap into their creativity and “help educate Americans about how to plan for and prevent the spread of H1NI influenza“.
The HHS department will make a shortlist of what they judge to be the best submissions and then show them to the public so they can vote for their favorite one. The winning entry will win 2,500 dollars in cash and will appear on national television.
More information about the PSA contest and how to enter is on the www.flu.gov website.
White House Homeland Security Advisor Brennan told delegates at the summit that the Obama administration was developing a national response framework and action plan to tackle H1N1 swine flu that:
“Builds on the efforts and lessons learned from this spring’s initial onset to prepare for the possibility of a more serious fall outbreak of the virus.”
HHS Secretary Sebelius said that they will be moving “more aggressively” in the coming weeks to prepare for the possibility of a more severe outbreak of the swine flu.
“We ask the American people to become actively engaged with their own preparation and prevention. It’s a responsibility we all share,” she urged.
Officials believe that at least 1 million Americans have been infected by the new H1N1 swine flu virus, most of them suffering a mild to moderate reaction.
In a separate interview reported by Reuters news agency, Sebelius told reporters that the annual flu vaccination campaign will be different this year, as H1N1 appears to be affecting older children and younger adults more severely compared to seasonal flu.
“We are likely to have a different target population,” said Sebelius.
We will be seeking partnerships with schools potentially and other vaccination sites,” she added.
Education Secretary Duncan explained to Summit delegates that to deal effectively with H1N1 requires:
“All of us — parents, educators, health providers, and local, state and federal governments — working together on our emergency management plan.”
One of the delegates at the Summit was Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley who said that:
“The experience in the spring taught us that while earlier pandemic flu planning efforts were effective, there are also areas for improvement.”
“Effective response requires accurate and timely information that is as close to real time as possible,” he added.
Source: HHS.gov, Reuters.
Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD