Featured series 
Tag: Flu
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Nation & World
Keeping students on campus for their health and safety?
During the influenza pandemic of 1918, Harvard kept students on campus and imposed quarantine and isolation when necessary.
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Nation & World
The main public health tool during 1918 pandemic? Social distancing
The Gazette looks at the history of social distancing, which, along with masks and vaccines, is still an effective strategy to stem the spread of COVID-19.
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Nation & World
Coronavirus likely now ‘gathering steam’
Harvard’s Marc Lipsitch said evidence indicates that the international cordon keeping coronavirus cases bottled up in China is a leaky one, and it’s likely that the relative handful of global cases reported so far are undercounted. If true, that will lead to widespread illness internationally, including in the U.S.
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Nation & World
CRISPR enzyme programmed to kill viruses in human cells
Researchers have turned a CRISPR enzyme into an antiviral that can be programmed to detect and destroy RNA-based viruses in human cells.
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Nation & World
Fighting the flu at less than full strength
Panelists focused on gaps in vaccination in a Harvard Chan School discussion on the flu.
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Nation & World
Everywhere you look, flu
Answers from Yonatan Grad, an assistant professor of immunology and infectious disease, on why this year’s flu season has been so severe.
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Nation & World
Study confirms vitamin D protects against colds and flu
Researchers find vitamin D helps the body fight acute respiratory infection.
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Nation & World
On top of the flu
A team led by Harvard statistician Samuel Kou has devised a new system for tracking flu outbreaks in real time.
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Nation & World
Defending against the flu
Raphael Dolin of the Medical School discusses the evidence for hand washing, the timing of flu season, and who’s most vulnerable to serious complications.
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Nation & World
Underprepared for the next pandemic
A lack of “surge” capacity plagues pandemic flu preparations around the world, as public health officials, scientists, and pharmaceutical industry scientists work to streamline vaccine production as well as improve surveillance, communication, and other public health practices before the next new ailment hits.
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Nation & World
Flu’s coming, but which kind?
With a new flu virus appearing in China in April and a new SARS-like respiratory ailment appearing in the Middle East, the Gazette sat down with Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch to talk about the upcoming flu season.
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Nation & World
After 9/11, health lessons ignored
The public health lessons of 9/11 and subsequent anthrax attacks haven’t been learned, said Pulitzer Prize-winning author Laurie Garrett during a talk at the Harvard School of Public Health.
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Nation & World
Survey Finds Travelers Taking Health Precautions
More than half of adult travelers say they are taking more precautions against flu this year compared to last year, according to a poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health.
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Nation & World
Freshmen to receive H1N1 vaccine
Harvard University Health Services (UHS) has received a new shipment of H1N1 vaccine and will begin distributing it to College freshmen at a clinic in Annenberg Hall on Wednesday (Dec. 9). UHS also will offer the vaccine to UHS patients between the ages of 18 of 24 who have high-risk health conditions.
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Nation & World
The Flu Fighters—in Your Food
To create immune cells to fight off a specific infection, the body has to rapidly draw nutrients from the bloodstream, says Anuraj Shankar, a researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health…
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Nation & World
How-to guide for flu coverage
The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard launched a comprehensive online guide to covering pandemic flu.
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Nation & World
Flu, Me? Public Remains Wary Of H1N1 Vaccine
Fewer than half of Americans say that they are planning to receive the new H1N1 swine flu vaccine, according to recent polls — a trend that is leaving many health professionals at a loss. For one thing, there are many different reasons why people say they are unlikely to get vaccinated. Nearly a third are…
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Nation & World
Flu threats are tough to pin down
Harvard’s Lipsitch had a central role in developing the swine flu planning scenario authored by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. That report – which said that in a “plausible scenario,’’ H1N1 could kill 30,000 to 90,000 – emphasizes “this is a planning scenario, not a prediction….”
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Nation & World
Harvard Hotline 877-366-6606
The University opened a new telephone hotline Friday (Sept. 18) to serve as a clearinghouse for real-time information about major issues of interest to the Harvard community.
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Nation & World
Business not ready for flu, study says
Many American businesses are unprepared to deal with widespread employee absenteeism in the event of a swine flu outbreak, a Harvard School of Public Health study says. The survey, released yesterday, found that two-thirds of more than 1,000 businesses questioned said they could not maintain normal operations if half their workers were out for two…
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Nation & World
Prepping for H1N1, round 2
While questions still remain about the H1N1 flu’s potential virulence in the coming months, there is little doubt that this particular viral strain will return.
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Nation & World
Free flu shots still available
With the flu season often lasting through April, there is still plenty of time and good reason to get immunized if you have not already. Following immunization, it takes approximately10 days to develop antibodies and be protected.