To determine which and how many individuals to plan to protect, your
organization must first establish clearly its mission or objectives during
a pandemic. NOTE: Your corporate mission during a pandemic will almost
certainly differ from your standard operating mission; however, it needs to
be equally clear.
As an example, a retail manufacturer may have dual objectives during a
pandemic:
Protect its employees
Continue to produce vital products for its customer base
Use the mission/objectives during a pandemic to determine the number of
individuals you will need to protect. The following checklist should prove
helpful in this determination.
Establish mission/objectives in a pandemic
Obtain agreement from senior management on the organization's
mission during a pandemic (business continuity, employee
protection, both, other).
If business continuity is the sole objective:
Identify which products and/or services must continue during a pandemic to fulfill the corporate mission
Specify the critical activities that are required inputs for those products and/or services
Identify job roles that are essential to support those critical activities
Distinguish job roles that can be performed only on-site from those that can be performed off-site
Identify employees that fill the "essential" roles & employees that can provide back-up
Identify functional areas that may need to increase the number of employees, (e.g. security)
If business continuity and employee protection are dual objectives,
determine which employees to cover beyond the "essential employees".
Consider internal and external groups you need to protect
The following internal groups may be considered for coverage:
Senior management
Employees that interact with the public
Employees at headquarters locations
% of All Employees
All Employees
The following external groups may be considered for coverage:
Key contractors and suppliers
Family members of employees
Members of the surrounding community
Estimate the number of new employees that may need to be hired to maintain business continuity
Arrive at the total number of individuals that your organization will need to protect
Total no. to protect = [# internal] + [# external] + [# new hires]
TAMIFLU has not been shown to be effective against any illness other than that caused by influenza types A and B. Efficacy of treatment in patients with chronic cardiac and/or respiratory disease has not been established. No difference in the incidence of complications was seen between the treatment and placebo groups in this population. No information is available regarding treatment of influenza in patients at imminent risk of requiring hospitalization. Efficacy of TAMIFLU has not been established in immunocompromised patients.
Safety and efficacy of repeated courses of TAMIFLU for treatment or prevention have not been studied. In postmarketing experience, rare cases of anaphylaxis and serious skin reactions, including toxic epidermal necrolysis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome and erythema multiforme, have been reported.
There have been postmarketing reports (mostly from Japan) of self-injury and delirium with the use of TAMIFLU in patients with influenza. The reports were primarily among children. The relative contribution of the drug to these events is not known. Patients with influenza should be closely monitored for signs of abnormal behavior throughout the treatment period. In treatment studies in adult patients, the most frequently reported adverse events (incidence ≥ 1%) were nausea and vomiting. Other events reported numerically more frequently in patients taking TAMIFLU compared with placebo were bronchitis, insomnia and vertigo. In treatment studies in patients 1 to 12 years old, the most frequently reported adverse event (incidence ≥ 1%) was vomiting (15%). Other events reported more frequently in patients taking TAMIFLU compared with placebo included abdominal pain (5% vs 4%), nosebleed (3% vs 3%), ear disorder (2% vs 1%) and pinkeye (1% vs < 1%).
In prophylaxis studies in adult patients, adverse events were similar to those seen in the treatment studies. Events reported more frequently in patients taking TAMIFLU compared with placebo (incidence ≥ 1%) were nausea (7% vs 3%), vomiting (2% vs 1%), diarrhea (3% vs 2%), abdominal pain (2% vs 1%), dizziness (1% vs 1%), headache (18% vs 18%) and insomnia (1% vs 1%). In a household prevention trial that included patients 1 to 12 years old, adverse events were similar to those observed in pediatric treatment studies, with GI events being the most common.
The concurrent use of TAMIFLU and live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) intranasal has not been evaluated. However, due to the possibility for interference between these products, LAIV should not be given within 2 weeks before or 48 hours after taking TAMIFLU, unless it is deemed appropriate by your doctor. Trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine can be administered at any time relative to use of TAMIFLU.
Tell-A-Colleague
Establish mission/objectives in a pandemic
