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San Francisco officials review spring H1N1 response and prepare for fall vaccine planning
Summary
Dr. Susan Furniak and DEM summarized the city's April'May H1N1 response, including EOC/DOC activations, limited confirmed cases by May, use of social media and stakeholder conference calls, and uncertainty about vaccine timing and prioritization ahead of the fall season.
Dr. Susan Furniak of the Department of Public Health briefed the Disaster Council on the city's H1N1 response and preparations for the coming fall.
Furniak said the city activated its infectious disease emergency response (IDER) and partially activated the EOC and DOC in late April. She described daily conference calls with state and federal partners, daily coordination between the mayor's office and the DEM, and outreach to hospitals, schools and businesses. By the end of the spring activation the city had nine confirmed cases, and no city schools were closed during that period.
Officials warned that vaccine availability and prioritization remained uncertain. "What we do know is that there most likely will be two vaccines this fall," Furniak said, and noted that the H1N1 vaccine may require two doses and could be distributed in phases depending on supply and priority groups determined at the state and federal level.
Rob Dudgeon (DEM) said the EOC used new communications channels, including a recently established Twitter account and AlertSF messages, to disseminate public information and that DEM convened daily stakeholder calls for businesses, schools and nongovernmental organizations to answer operational questions. Dudgeon said city agencies are preparing continuity-of-operations plans and that an after-action report focused on process improvements will be vetted and released.
During Q&A, Sheriff Hennessy raised questions about testing turnaround and mortality rates; Furniak said public-health lab testing is being limited to hospitalized or deceased patients with same-day results when run and that state totals suggested overall mortality similar to seasonal influenza. FEMA, CDC and states will make final determinations on vaccine prioritization and distribution timing; city officials emphasized planning for the probability of co-circulating seasonal and H1N1 strains in fall.
No formal decisions or votes were entered; officials said planning and communications efforts would continue and that a pan-flu task force meeting is planned in August to align agencies and partners.
