An "influenza vaccination week" will be launched across the United States next week, Xinhua quoted a high-ranking health official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as saying. "This next week, or beginning this weekend, we"re going to kickoff the national influenza vaccination week," Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC"s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told a press conference. "This is a concerted effort by the CDC, (the department of) health and human services and all of our partners to encourage vaccination," she added. Although only four states were reporting widespread A/H1N1 flu activity in the past week, U.S. health officials cautioned that a new outbreak was possible. "The H1N1 virus is still circulating and still causing disease, hospitalizations and deaths," Schuchat said. "Many people are still susceptible to this virus and would benefit from vaccination." The nation-wide vaccination week includes a focus on people at high risk for complications (adults with emphysema, pregnant women, seniors and children), encouraging vaccination for anyone who hasn"t yet been vaccinated and wants to be, she added.
