The mission of the Center for Public Health Readiness & Communication (CPHRC) is to enhance community resilience and the ability of health professionals, emergency managers, and public safety officials to meet the needs of all communities in times of disaster and public health emergency. In keeping with the School’s commitment to health and human rights, the CPHRC has an applied focus on serving marginalized, vulnerable, and hard-to-reach populations. More About Us...
Emerging Issues: New Findings About Flu Vaccines
As flu season approaches, there is new information regarding the efficacy of the seasonal influenza vaccine. In an article published in the October 26, 2011 issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Dr. Michael Osterholm and his colleagues at the Centers for Infectious Disease Research and Preparedness found that the flu shot has a lower level of efficacy than originally thought. In adults under the age of 65, the vaccine was found to have a 59% effectiveness rate as opposed to the previously reported rates of 70-90%. Does this mean you should forego the flu shot? No. While it isn’t perfect, the influenza vaccine has been shown to reduce severe complications of influenza, including mortality among the elderly and maternal-fetal transmission.
The CPHRC initiative DiversityPreparedness.org will showcase flu season resources, including a toolkit developed to promote influenza vaccine uptake among racial and ethnic minorities, a group that has historically suffered disproportionately severe consequences of influenza.
CPHRC Receives Public Health Risk Assessment and Preparedness Grant
Dr. Esther Chernak, Director of the Center for Public Health Readiness & Communication (CPHRC), and Associate Research Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the School of Public Health, has received a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health to conduct a public health risk assessment for the Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. MORE...