Washington, DC - Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), joined by other medical and public health experts, will address the nation in preparation for the upcoming flu season at a news conference presented by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

In the United States, millions of people get sick, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized and thousands to tens of thousands of people die from flu and related complications every year. While it is not possible to predict how severe the 2016-2017 season will be, or which viruses will dominate, one constant is the need for annual vaccination to help decrease the impact of this contagious disease. The expert panel will address:

• Vaccination trends: final vaccination coverage estimates for the 2015-2016 flu season will be released, including estimates for the general population, health care personnel and pregnant women and state-level data
• Who should get vaccinated? When and where to get vaccinated?
• What families need to know about vaccines for children and older adults
• Vaccine composition, supply and new vaccine options
• Best approaches to fighting flu: prevention and treatment
• The burden of pneumococcal disease and the benefits of vaccination

In addition to Dr. Frieden, panelists will include:

• William Schaffner, M.D., NFID Medical Director and Professor of Preventive Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
• Patricia Whitley-Williams, M.D., Division Chief and Professor of Pediatrics at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; NFID Vice President
• Wilbur H. Chen, M.D., Associate Professor, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Chief of Adult Clinical Studies section within the Center for Vaccine Development and Director of the UMB Traveler’s Health Clinic