I am often asked whether our seasonal flu vaccines could be used to prevent avian influenza (bird flu) infections, and if not, how long would it take to produce and distribute bird flu vaccines. I’ll try to answer both questions in this blog post. The U.S. government has stored some H5N1 vaccines made in theContinue reading “Responding to a Potential Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) Pandemic – Vaccines”
Tag Archives: vaccine
Addressing the Current Vaccine Disinformation
Let’s get a few matters out of the way before we dive in. Okay, with that out of the way, let’s dive in. I can’t possibly address all the lies and disinformation being spread out there, but let’s take some of the big ones, and then I may tackle some of the other ones inContinue reading “Addressing the Current Vaccine Disinformation”
Understanding Influenza – Part I
How Does the CDC conduct influenza surveillance? Are we seeing an increase in influenza activity yet? Is it time to get my flu shot? How Does the CDC conduct influenza surveillance? First, there is virologic surveillance, i.e., testing by a network of laboratories for the influenza virus and reporting to the CDC of those results.Continue reading “Understanding Influenza – Part I”
Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak Update
I have previously written about the Marburg virus, the timeline and history of outbreaks, and the recent outbreak in Rwanda. This is an update. Marburg virus is one of the deadliest viruses known to infect humans. Much of the background information below comes from “Key information about Rwanda’s deadly Marburg outbreak is still missing” https://www.science.org/content/article/key-information-about-rwanda-s-deadly-marburg-outbreak-still-missing.Continue reading “Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak Update”
Some Helpful Resources for Followers of my Blog
Free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests If you have not already done so in the past week, each household can order 4 free tests to be mailed to you by going to https://covidtests.gov/. It is fast and easy. Help in finding COVID-19 vaccines: Use this site if you need to find a pharmacy in your areaContinue reading “Some Helpful Resources for Followers of my Blog”
Marburg Virus Outbreak in Rwanda
Our long history of ignoring diseases that emerge in Africa as solely of concern to the African continent has been proven wrong time and time again, but yet, we still haven’t learned. We must gain an appreciation for how interconnected the world is today. The CDC has already acknowledged that Marburg virus has spread toContinue reading “Marburg Virus Outbreak in Rwanda”