CDC has recently released two new important preparedness and response tools on its website. These tools can be downloaded and installed for free from emergency.CDC.gov.

MedCon:Pre-Event - A Tool to Estimate the Pre-Event Population at Risk of Medical Consequences in a Disaster
The MedCon:Pre-Event has been designed to estimate the baseline medical care requirements (i.e., the number of persons that would require medical care) of a displaced population following a disaster due to pre-existing medical conditions. Users of MedCon:PreEvent should note that the MedCon:Pre-Event has not been designed for estimating the medical care requirements due to direct impact of the event (e.g., injuries and illness) or additional medical care requirements resulting from the aggravation of the existing medical condition. The intended users of the MedCon:Pre-Event model are public health preparedness planners at local, state, and federal levels involved in addressing the large scale medical care requirements resulting from man-made and natural disasters.

VacStockpile: A Tool to Estimate the Potential Impacts for Stockpiling Vaccines for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases of Children
The VacStockpile has been designed to help planners and policy makers evaluate the potential health and cost impacts of stockpile decisions for each type of pediatric vaccine for an array of scenarios regarding possible vaccine shortages. The consequences of a vaccine shortage evaluated include potential doses of vaccine shortage, replenishment costs to replace stockpile doses that are used for shortages or discarded because of expiry of shelf life, and a number of potential health consequences (e.g., number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths) that may occur under various vaccine shortage scenarios. Although VacStockpile has been designed for use in the United States, it can be applied to other situations or locations where vaccine stockpiles are being maintained or considered.

Click here for memo from DHHS waiver of rules for Hospitals provide temporary shelter

Click here for Rachel Long's H1N1 presentation