Every holiday season, millions of Americans travel through the nation’s airports, seaports, and train stations to spend time with loved ones. Special holiday get-togethers – and traveling itself – bring people close together but also provide an ideal way for illness to spread. To help travelers avoid the flu this holiday season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today launched its largest ever public awareness campaign about staying healthy while traveling.

The World Health Organization said today that only one dose of the H1N1 vaccine is needed for adults and children 10 years of age and older. Medical experts in the United States are recommending two doses for children younger than 10 years of age. Read a full report on the New York Times' website.

The Carleton Pandemic Flu Preparedness Team will be offering our campus constituents weekly updates on H1N1 status here at Carleton. Here’s this week’s offering. Simply put, the College is experiencing nearly double the amount in the number of reported influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) this week compared to last. So far, we’ve had 114 new cases reported this week alone, compared to 65 cases reported last week.

The Carleton Pandemic Flu Preparedness Team will be offering our campus constituents weekly updates on H1N1 status here at Carleton. Here’s this week’s offering. Simply put, the College is experiencing nearly double the amount in the number of students reporting influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) this week compared to last. So far, we’ve had 114 new cases reported this week alone, compared to 65 cases reported last week.

Two more deaths from 2009 H1N1 influenza have been confirmed by the Minnesota Department of Health, bringing the total number of H1N1 deaths to 12 since April. The additional deaths were confirmed in an adult in the 50-59 age range with no underlying health conditions and an adolescent in the 10-19 age range from the Twin Cities metro area, again with no underlying health conditions.

In an effort to proactively address the ongoing pandemic, the U.S. President Barack Obama signed a National Emergency Declaration on H1N1 that allows healthcare systems to quickly implement disaster plans should they become overwhelmed. The text from the White House's blog is posted here, with a link to the full text and its implications on flu.gov.

Officials at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) report that the response to their new phone-based service for people with flu symptoms has been “very heavy.” As of 8 a.m. today, the new Minnesota FluLine had received over 2,100 calls. The FluLine number was first made available to the public at 11 a.m. yesterday. As a result, some users of the service have been reporting long wait times or busy signals. MDH officials are urging users of the service to be patient, as the agency works to expand the capacity of the system.

The Minnesota Department of Health issued a press release stating that three more H1N1 deaths have occurred in the state within the last two weeks. All three victims had underlying health conditions. These cases bring to 10 the total Minnesota deaths related to the H1N1 outbreak since last April.

A story from the Associated Press, posted on MSNBC.com, explains in detail why the H1N1 vaccine has experienced significant delays. The government now hopes to have about 50 million doses out by mid-November and 150 million in December, Dr. Nicole Lurie, assistant health and human services secretary for preparedness, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

In the past two days, the Wellness Center has noticed a significant increase in the number of influenza-like illnesses reported via its website (http://go.carleton.edu/flu), with 35 students reporting ILIs since Monday. This news, coupled with the fact the delivery of the H1N1 vaccine has been delayed, compelled us to offer a quick reminder of self-care and preparation tips to keep you and your peers healthy through the remainder of the term.

The Carleton Pandemic Flu Preparedness Team will be offering our campus constituents weekly updates on H1N1 status here at Carleton. Here’s this week’s offering. Last week, the College had 27 student cases of influenza-like illnesses reported via our online flu reporting form at http://go.carleton.edu/fluform/. This is compared to 14 cases the previous week. This week we’ve experienced a huge surge in reported illnesses, with nearly 20 reported student cases in the last 24 hours.

A new phone-based service is now available for Minnesotans who think they may have the flu. Beginning today, people with possible flu symptoms can call the Minnesota FluLine (MN FluLine) at 1-866-259-4655 for information and treatment options. Professionals will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. People with limited English skills will be connected with an interpreter. There is no charge for the call.