Sep 19, 2017   SOURCE: PR NewsWire

U.S. Secretary of Health Discusses Importance of Annual Influenza Prevention

Secretary Tom Price joins leading medical and public health experts to discuss current flu season, and final vaccination coverage data from 2016-2017 season

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, M.D., joined by a panel of medical and public health experts, will discuss the importance of annual influenza prevention for the upcoming flu season at a news conference presented by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

WHO: National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

WHEN: Thursday, September 28, 2017; 10-11 a.m. EDT

WHERE: National Press Club, 13(th) Floor, First Amendment Lounge, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20045

CONTACT: Amy Lebowitz, amy.lebowitz@unlimitedgroup.com / 212-886-2231

Influenza (flu), distinct from the common cold, infects millions of people in the U.S. each year. Of those, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized, and thousands to tens of thousands die of flu and related complications. Influenza vaccination rates across certain populations are substantially lower than U.S. public health goals. New data on vaccine coverage, hospitalizations and more from the 2016-2017 season can help to shed light on vaccination and hospitalization trends, and how best to prepare for the upcoming flu season.

The expert panel will address:

    --  Vaccination trends: final vaccination coverage estimates for the
        2016-2017 flu season will be released, including estimates by age group
        as well as state-level data
    --  Who should get vaccinated? When and where to get vaccinated?
    --  What individuals need to know about vaccines for children and older
        adults
    --  Vaccine composition, supply and new vaccine options
    --  Best approaches to fighting flu: prevention and treatment
    --  The burden of pneumococcal disease and the benefits of vaccination

In addition to Dr. Price, panelists will include:

    --  William Schaffner, M.D., (Moderator), NFID Medical Director and
        Professor of Preventive Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt
        University School of Medicine
    --  Patricia A. Stinchfield, RN, MD, CPNP, CIC, Senior Director, Infection
        Prevention & Control and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Infectious
        Disease/Immunology, Children's Minnesota
    --  Kathleen M. Neuzil, MD, MPH, Director, Center for Vaccine Development,
        University of Maryland School of Medicine
    --  Daniel B. Jernigan, MD, MPH, Director, Influenza Division, National
        Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease
        Control and Prevention

Representatives from other leading public health and medical organizations, including American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Nurses Association and Families Fighting Flu will be available to provide context around data.

In advance of the news conference, NFID hosted a webinar on the fundamentals of flu and flu vaccine hosted by Dr. William Schaffner and CDC subject matter experts. An archive is available at bit.ly/flu101.

VISUAL/PHOTO:
Dr. Price will lead by example and get vaccinated, calling on everyone to protect themselves, their families and friends and their communities in the fight against influenza.

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- Sept. 19, 2017/

SOURCE National Foundation for Infectious Diseases