(CIDRAP News) An internal report prepared by the World Bank estimates that a severe influenza pandemic could kill 71 million people and cause a recession costing more than $3 trillion, Bloomberg News reported today.
The report says that in a severe pandemic, sagging tourism, transportation, retail sales, and productivity, coupled with worker absenteeism, could reduce global gross domestic product (GDP) by 4.8%, according to Bloomberg.
(CIDRAP News) State pandemic preparedness has improved over the past few years, but gaps remain, particularly in areas that don't relate directly to healthcare such as continuing government operations, maintaining essential services, and coordinating with the private sector, according to a recent report from the National Governors Association (NGA).
(CIDRAP News) The current financial crisis may be pulling time and resources away from business pandemic planning, but two experts on the topic today told corporate leaders they can improve their firms' survivability during a global health emergency by avoiding specific mistakes.
(CIDRAP News) – A flu vaccine manufacturer's decision not to build a US facility has highlighted the perpetual mismatch between flu-shot supply and demand—and the reality that the mismatch may undermine plans for pandemic flu vaccines.
(CIDRAP News) GlaxoSmithKline, maker of the antiviral drug zanamivir (Relenza), today launched a program designed to help businesses stockpile the drug as a strategy to protect employees in the event of an influenza pandemic.
(CIDRAP News) A new report from the British government ranks pandemic influenza very high on the list of major security threats to the United Kingdom.
(CIDRAP News) – A recent survey of nursing homes in two states found that fewer than half had a plan for coping with pandemic influenza, according to a report in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.
(CIDRAP News) Federal health officials today released their official guidance on allocating vaccine during an influenza pandemic, with few changes from a previous draft that put military personnel, critical health and emergency workers, pregnant women, and small children at the head of the line.
(CIDRAP News) With an endorsement from US health officials, Roche, maker of the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu), today unveiled a program to encourage more businesses to stockpile the drug to protect employees in case of an influenza pandemic.
(CIDRAP News) The first real test of a new program to screen some arriving passengers at the Honolulu airport for flu-like illness went smoothly this week, according to an official with the Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH).