Legislators To Discuss H1N1 Flu
Tomorrow a joint meeting between the House and Senate health committees will hear from state and county officials about the novel H1N1 flu virus, commonly referred to as “swine flu,” and vaccine safety, vaccine supplies and mass vaccination planning.
According to Rep. Nancy Barto, House Health and Humans Services Committee chair, this meeting is timely, important and designed to answer Legislators’ questions about vaccinations.
“Legislators want the opportunity to talk with state and county public officials about the swine flu to address specific questions and concerns they are hearing from their constituents,” Rep. Barto said.
Addressing the joint health meeting will be Interim Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services Will Humble and Dr. Bob England from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. In addition to discussing vaccine safety, each will also talk about the state and county H1N1 response plans, school readiness and public outreach efforts.
“Arizona needs to be ready to handle this upcoming flu season and this joint meeting will help us see how ready we really are,” Rep. Barto explained. “Federal officials are saying that up to 40 percent of the U.S. population could develop H1N1 symptoms this flu season and thousands could die. Reports are breaking about the fact there is a problem with vaccine production,” she said. “We need to know what this means for the state of Arizona and how we plan to respond.”
This joint meeting will answer that and many other questions about the H1N1 flu season. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in Senate Hearing Room 1. All members on both committees are expected to attend.
To review the agenda for the meeting, click here.