What to know
An influenza pandemic—whether of low, moderate, high or very high severity—will place extraordinary and sustained demands on public health and health care systems and on providers of essential community services. Since 2005, the United States has worked to increase capacity for global pandemic response.
Background
HHS has developed and refined tools over the past decade to help guide different aspects of planning and response, including evaluating the pandemic risk posed by a novel influenza A virus, assessing the risk and potential public health impact posed by the novel influenza A virus; understanding the possible progression of the event; developing a pre-pandemic candidate vaccine virus, or vaccine; and evaluating the severity and transmissibility to enable informed public health interventions.
Surveillance and monitoring, development and delivery of medical countermeasures (e.g., vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and respiratory protection devices) and non-pharmaceutical interventions, health care system response, and communications are integral components of pandemic planning and response.