Pandemic Influenza Preparedness

Tools and Resources for Influenza Preparedness

This page contains public health resources and tools for local health departments to use in preparing for and/or responding to influenza. To download the resource list in PDF format, click here.

For the most up-to-date information on the current H1N1 influenza (swine flu) outbreak, visit the CDC's H1N1 flu Web site.

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»	Pandemic Planning
»	Public Education and Vulnerable Populations
»	Samples, Templates, and Exercises
»	Legal Preparedness Resources
»	Emergency Risk Communication
»	Federal Resources
»	NACCHO Policy Statements

Pandemic Planning

Texas A&M Health Science Center is offering planning sessions to assist municipalities in managing school closures due to a major public health emergency. These sessions are designed to improve the proficiency of school systems, administrators, and faculty.

Pandemic Influenza School Planning Toolkit
This toolkit was created to assist local public health departments in partnering with the schools within their jurisdictions for pandemic emergency preparedness planning.

Pandemic Flu Preparedness Resources for Business Engagement
These resources will describe the Public Health - Seattle and King County business engagement and outreach plan, provide tools for other local health jurisdictions, including sample letters, PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and provide resources for businesses.

Pandemic Flu Planning Guidance for MRC Units
This toolkit provides a broad range of pandemic influenza planning and response actions that can be adapted and used by MRC units nationwide.

Clinic Planning Model Generator
Software to create a Microsoft Excel workbook for POD planning.

Vaccine Allocation Model
A Microsoft Excel workbook that can determine how many persons in different target groups can receive treatment if the number of vaccinations available is limited.

Public Education and Vulnerable Populations

Home Care Guide: Providing Care at Home during Pandemic Flu
The Home Care Guide for Pandemic Flu can be used to help community members prepare at home to take care of sick family or household members.

Pandemic Influenza: Quarantine, Isolation and Social Distancing - Field Guide for Public Health
This field guide for pandemic influenza addresses human behavior as a consideration during planning efforts.

Samples, Templates, and Exercises

Sample Plan for Vaccination with Strain-Specific Influenza Vaccine during an Influenza Pandemic
This document offers an example of tiered priority groups for influenza vaccine in the event of a pandemic when resources will likely be scarce.

Sample Household Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Checklist
This document offers a sample for what might be included on a checklist to help households in a jurisdiction prepare for a possible outbreak of pandemic influenza.

Sample Clinical Algorithm for Case Management for Pandemic Influenza
Drawn from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan, this document offers two sample clinical algorithms.

Sample Plans for the Use of Antivirals during a Pandemic
This document provides two plans for the use of antivirals during a pandemic: one for a situation prior to the availability of vaccine and one once a vaccine has been developed.

Sample Suspect Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Specimen Submittal Form
This document offers a sample for what might be included in instructions for submitting potential influenza A specimens for laboratories.

Sample Temporary Isolation Order for Pandemic Influenza
This document provides a sample of a temporary isolation order that can be used to hold individuals temporarily until the Health Officer is notified and able to evaluate whether there is a need for additional action.

Public Health Preparedness Exercise Toolkit with Avian Flu Tabletop
The purpose of this document is to summarize the federal guidance on preparedness exercises and make this information readily accessible to local public health.

Legal Preparedness Resources

Guide for Developing an MOU for Multi-Sector Response to Pandemic Respiratory Disease (CDC)
An MOU tool for pandemic preparedness: "Coordinated Implementation of Community Response Measures (Including Social Distancing) to Control the Spread of Pandemic Respiratory Disease: A Guide for Developing an MOU for Public Health, Law Enforcement, Corrections, and the Judiciary."

Case Study: "Strengthening the Coordination of Public Health and Law Enforcement during an Influenza Pandemic" (CDC)
An excerpt from CDC's "Forensic Epidemiology 3.0" training, which is designed to help public health and law enforcement agencies strengthen coordination of responses to pandemic influenza and similar threats.

Pan-Flu Preparedness Legal Checklist for Healthcare Providers (CDC)
This checklist is a scalable tool designed to assist providers along the continuum of care as well as the broader healthcare and public health communities in taking concrete steps to prepare for an influenza pandemic.

Swine Flu Legal Preparedness and Response Resources (The Centers for Law and the Public's Health)
This Web site contains various information, including memoranda, articles, checklists, and other documents accessible online or in PDF format.

For more legal preparedness resources, visit the CDC Public Health Law Program Web site.

Emergency Risk Communication

Risk Communication and Public Education Tool Kit
The goal of the CERC Toolkit is to provide information and materials to other public health departments and assist in the development and organization of public information activities.

Speak First: Communicating Effectively in Times of Crisis and Uncertainty
A proven, practical training for building the skills to delivering first messages in the early hours of a crisis.

Federal Resources

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Pandemicflu.gov Web Site

PandemicFlu.gov provides access to current information on the swine flu outbreak and serves as a central repository of information around pandemic flu planning.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: National Library of Medicine, Swine Flu Resources
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Web site provides numerous links to sources of information on U.S. federal and international response; guidance documents for professionals; maps, news feeds, and social media; information and literature (including full-text books); and information in Spanish.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
This Web site provides guidance on preparing workplaces for an influenza pandemic.

H1NI Information Packet (HHS, DHS, and ED): Materials for state and local health officials to use to educate constituents over the coming month and to help spread the word to all Americans that preventing the spread of the flu is a responsibility we all share. The Packet includes:

For a complete list of the most up-to-date CDC H1N1 guidance, visit www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/.