"On the 100th anniversary of the devastating pandemic of 1918, Jeremy Brown, a veteran ER doctor, explores the troubling, terrifying, and complex history of the flu virus, from the origins of the Great Flu that killed millions, to vexing questions such as: are we prepared for the next epidemic, should you get a flu shot, and how close are we to finding a cure? While influenza is now often thought of as a common and mild disease, it still kills over...

This Statistical Brief uses data from the Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-HC) for 2003 to examine receipt of annual flu shots for adults 18 or older in the U.S. civilian noninstitutional population. The brief compares the percentages of persons getting an annual flu shot by various demographic characteristics and health status.

GAO has conducted a body of work over the past several years to help the nation better prepare for, respond to, and recover from a possible influenza pandemic, which could result from a novel strain of influenza virus for which there is little resistance and which therefore is highly transmissible among humans. GAO synthesized the results of 11 reports and two testimonies issued over the past 3 years using six key thematic areas: (1) leadership, authority,...