Every winter, the US suffers a seasonal flu that kills approximately 36,000 Americans and hospitalizes more than 200,000 Terrible as that is, health experts are now warning about a far more lethal kind of flu – a pandemic flu that could kill over half a million Americans, hospitalize more than two million, cost our economy billions in lost productivity and direct medical expenses, and impact virtually every community
All of us want to do the right things to protect ourselves and our families in the event of a health emergency, including a pandemic flu outbreak. So it is important to take steps now to have a plan in place to protect your loved ones during a pandemic.
Some of these are steps that should be taken to prepare for other types of public health emergencies, so doing them now in preparation for a pandemic flu could benefit you in other situations as well.
This brochure was prepared by Trust for America's Health's Pandemic Preparedness Initiative, which was Pew supported.
More resources for public health officials and the general public are available at these two Web sites: