APHA Influenza Vaccination System Expert Available to Address Public Health Concerns Related to Flu Pandemic Threat

Washington, D.C., October 18, 2005 – The American Public Health Association (APHA) today announced that Tim Brookes, a leading health writer and author of the newly published “A Warning Shot: Influenza and the 2004 Flu Vaccine Shortage,” is available to discuss the nation’s preparedness in the event of a flu pandemic.

“A Warning Shot,” published by APHA, gives an account of last year’s vaccine shortage, the way the U.S. vaccination system is structured and the time-consuming manufacturing process of influenza shots. Among the book’s key lessons are that the country’s vaccination standards are actually hampering the ability to garner needed vaccinations when a shortage arises.

Brookes has written books on the SARS outbreak, asthma and hospice care and is a regular essayist for National Public Radio. He was born in London, England, and educated at Oxford University. He also examined the origin and development of the century’s first new fatal disease organism in “Behind the Mask: How the World Survived SARS, the first Epidemic of the Twenty-First Century,” published by APHA.

To arrange an interview with Brookes, contact Sabrina Jones at (202) 777-2509 or sabrina.jones@apha.org.