NFID convenes news conference

HHS secretary and CDC director join leading medical experts to share developments about seasonal influenza

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) presents key information for the upcoming flu season every fall, and this year – a pandemic year – NFID joins leading medical experts to call for Americans to be vaccinated against all types of influenza. An adequate supply of seasonal influenza vaccine is expected, and is already being distributed.

Seasonal influenza kills 36,000 Americans a year and hospitalizes more than 200,000. The threat is constant and recurring each year, but the strains, severity and impact vary year to year. Now more than ever, there is a need to communicate clearly about influenza, to:

Dispel any confusion about severity and prevention for both seasonal and H1N1 influenza
Identify who is at risk
Discuss the use of influenza vaccination, as well as the use of pneumococcal vaccination – a vaccine that may find increased use to help ward off influenza complications this season

A panel including experts from academia, government, health professional societies and the public health field will address the need to make seasonal influenza vaccination a priority.

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services
Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Anne Schuchat, MD, Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC
Gregory A. Poland, MD, Mayo Clinic, Chair, Adult Immunization Advisory Board, American College of Physicians
Cora L. Christian, MD, AARP Board of Directors
David T. Tayloe, Jr., MD, FAAP, President, American Academy of Pediatrics
Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD, Immediate Past President, American Medical Association
William Schaffner, MD, President-Elect, NFID, Program Moderator, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

A question and answer session will immediately follow the news conference.

DATE/TIME: Thursday, September 10, 2009, 10 a.m.

WHERE: The National Press Club, 14th and F Streets, NW, 13th Floor, First Amendment Lounge, Washington, DC 20045; also via live Webcast at http://www.visualwebcaster.com/NFID-2009-News-Conference and telephone at 800-954-1051

CONTACT: Jennifer Corrigan, 732-382-8898, 732-742-7148 (cell phone), jenn.corrigan@comcast.net or Diana Dopfel, 212-886-2285, 631-807-8422 (cell phone), ddopfel@alembichealth.com

Pre-registration for attendance is preferred. Journalists must present media identification or a business card issued by a recognized news organization. Freelance journalists must present a letter of assignment on letterhead from a recognized news organization and a business card.

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This news conference is sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) in partnership with the National Influenza Vaccine Summit and is supported, in part, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and through unrestricted educational grants to NFID from CSL Biotherapies, Inc., Flu Vaccine Business Practices Initiative (c/o HIDA), GlaxoSmithKline, MedImmune, Merck and Co., Inc., Novartis Vaccines, Roche, sanofi pasteur and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

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