Does Maryland have a stockpile of antiviral drugs?
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a supply of antiviral medications to share with Maryland and the other states. In a pandemic, even if existing antiviral drugs are effective on the new strain, demand for antiviral drugs will be high, which means that it will be necessary to take the other important steps to limit transmission of the virus. This includes good handwashing and respirtory hygiene. Other steps may include closing schools temporarily, encouraging people to work at home if possible and limiting large gatherings of people. Hospitals would take extra measures to isolate flu patients from healthy people. • Will the annual flu vaccine protect people against pandemic influenza? No, influenza vaccines are designed to protect against a specific virus, so a pandemic vaccine cannot be produced until a new pandemic influenza virus emerges and is identified. Even after a pandemic influenza virus has been identified, it could take at least 6 months to develop, t
