CDC Updates Status of Influenza Vaccine Supply for 2001–2002

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Immunization Program recently released its eighth update on the production and distribution of the influenza vaccine for the 2001–02 season. The current projected distribution dates for the estimated 79.1 million doses of the influenza vaccine are 56 percent of the total supply should be distributed by the end of October, an additional 31 percent of the supply will be delivered in November and the final 13 percent of the supply will be delivered in early December. Because of anticipated delays, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will allow clinicians to sell, buy or transfer the influenza vaccine to other providers in their state. For more information, go to the CDC's Web site athttp://www.cdc.gov/nip/Flu/News.htm. A list of influenza vaccine contact persons for each state and selected local public health departments is available online athttp://www.cdc.gov/nip/Flu/statecontacts.htm. These contact persons can inform physicians of their state's efforts to re-allocate the vaccine early in the season and possibly assist them in obtaining the vaccine or re-allocating any excess supply.

HHS Sends Emergency Pharmaceutical Supplies to New York City

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has authorized the first emergency use of the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile by delivering substantial amounts of supplies to provide special aid for the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11. The CDC released one of the eight “12-Hour Push Packages” that are pre-packaged and pre-positioned in secure storage facilities throughout the country and are available for delivery to any area of the continental United States within 12 hours of deployment. The “push packages” include pharmaceuticals, intravenous supplies, airway supplies, emergency medication, bandages and dressings, and other materials for a variety of potential medical needs. Each package fills several truckloads and is considered sufficient to respond to an emergency involving mass casualties. In response to the particular needs in New York, the CDC also provided 84,000 bags of intravenous fluid, other intravenous supplies, 350 portable ventilators and 250 stationary ventilators. For more information about the pharmaceutical stockpile, visithttp://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2001pres/20010911d.html.

Alaska Physician Chosen AAFP Family Physician of the Year

The American Academy of Family Physician's (AAFP) Congress of Delegates named Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, M.D., a practicing family physician from Wasilla, Alaska, the 2002 AAFP Family Physician of the Year for her 17 years of delivering quality and compassionate care to the people of Alaska. Dr. CBJ, as her patients affectionately know her, has been routinely commended for her volunteer work and community advocacy, and received the Alaska First Lady's award for outstanding volunteerism in 1999. She is the founder and volunteer medical director of the Children's Place, an agency for children who have been victims of physical or sexual abuse, and volunteers her time at the Valley Sexual Assault Response Team in Alaska and the Alaska Statewide Children's Advocacy Center Working Group. “Alaska is a better state for having Dr. CBJ as our Alaska Family Physician of the Year (2001),” said Sarah H. Palin, mayor of Wasilla. “Dr. CBJ's sincere love for her profession, her patients and her community deserve (the highest) honor.” In her first few years in practice, Dr. Baldwin-Johnson started “Health Care with a Heart,” which allowed her practice to offer free care to patients on Valentine's Day. Dr. Baldwin-Johnson received her medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, where she has been a clinical instructor since 1987, and completed a family practice residency at the Swedish Hospital Family Practice Residency Program, Seattle.

AAFP's Walter H. Kemp Award Presented to Two Family Physicians

Vincent Morelli, M.D., and Roger J. Zoorob, M.D., M.P.H., both of Kenner, La., recently received the 2001 Walter H. Kemp Award of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), which recognizes a family physician who has written an outstanding article published in American Family Physician (AFP) during the previous year. Morelli and Zoorob's award-winning article, “Alternative Therapies: Part II. Congestive Heart Failure and Hypercholesterolemia,” (AFP, September 15, 2000) was the second in a series focusing on herbal products and their side effects. Dr. Morelli is assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Louisiana State University Medical Center, Kenner, La. Dr. Zoorob is associate professor, associate chair and residency director in the Department of Family Medicine at Louisiana State University Medical Center. The selection criteria for this award are quality of editorial presentation, the scientific substance of the article, the originality of thought and the relevance to the family physician's practice. Established in 1986, the award is named in memory of long-time AFP publisher Walter H. Kemp.