In the NewsLinks appear for content that is available online indefinitely. November 7, 2009
Flu causes aches and pains at White House; vaccine shortages are bad news for the administration. Will swine flu be Obama's Katrina? by Will Englund. National Journal.
Dr. Eric Toner assesses the Obama administration’s actions regarding the H1N1 vaccine program, "Here, the government has done everything it can do." November 5, 2009
U.S. hospitals weathering flu pandemic so far, by Julie Steenhuysen. Thompson Reuters.
Dr. Eric Toner pointed out the increased volume of H1N1 patients on hospitals, "So far, it has not been overwhelming. Just a stretch." October 26, 2009
H1N1 flu 'pushing hospitals to their limit,' by Steve Sternberg. USA Today.
Dr. Eric Toner weighs in on the impact that 2009 H1N1 influenza. October 21, 2009
Swine flu threatens hospital business. Marketplace Report. National Public Radio.
Dr. Eric Toner discusses the financial impact of 2009 H1N1 influenza on hospitals, "Hospitals stay profitable to the extent that they are profitable by high-profit services, such as elective surgeries. So if hospitals have to defer elective surgeries, that will definitely impact them adversely.." September 13, 2009
Disaster plans being revised for swine flu: strains on emergency system feared, by Rob Stein. Washington Post.
Dr. Eric Toner is interviewed about the potential effects of H1N1 on hospitals, "There will be millions and millions of people seeking care in a relatively short period of time. . . Only a small percentage of those people will require hospitalization and a small percentage will require intensive care. But it's still an awful lot of people." August 23, 2009
Officials brace for an H1N1 resurgence, Daily Kos.
Dr. Eric Toner and the Center for Biosecurity are referenced in this article. August 10, 2009
Preparing for swine flu's return; new wave expected after virus flourished in southern hemisphere, by Rob Stein, The Washington Post.
Dr. Eric Toner weighs in on the second wave of the 2009 flu virus, anticipated for the fall: "There's only so much that can be done to get ready...All you can do is try to be prepared to deal with the consequences." August 2, 2009
E.R.’s may be the first victims, by Eric Toner. New York Times.
Dr. Eric Toner's OpEd article offers his views on the state of hospital preparedness and recommendations for dealing with influenza in the fall: "Most important, hospitals should cooperate with one another, and with public health agencies, to distribute patient loads, stockpile supplies and share limited resources." August 1, 2009
Health care workers infected with H1N1: One health care worker reported transmission despite mask. Case Management Advisor.
Dr. Eric Toner remarked about healthcare worker safety issues during the spring 2009 H1N1 outbreak: "We heard of some hospitals that had a run on their N95 [respirators]. Clinical units were hoarding them to make sure they had enough." July 14, 2009
Flu furore hits Argentina: refusal to declare national emergency restricts pandemic measures, by Anna Petherick. Nature News.
Dr. Eric Toner is mentioned in this article. June 19, 2009
Interview with Eric Toner, by Jim Unland. Journal of Health Business and Policy.
Eric Toner, MD: Journal of Health Business and Policy, June 19, 2009. June 12, 2009
System built for bioterror used to monitor flu. Associated Press.
Dr. Toner commented about syndromic surveillance during the spring 2009 H1N1 outbreak in New York: "In the first few weeks, when we weren't sure what this was, it was reassuring to see that there weren't large numbers of patients going to emergency rooms." June 10, 2009
Avian influenza aided readiness for swine flu, by Erika Check Hayden. Nature News.
Dr. Toner commented on the global planning for avian flu and how it has had an impact on the readiness for H1N1: "Many nations built their plans around the idea that a pandemic strain would evolve in southeast Asia, that we would recognize it early, and that we would be able to contain it. None of that turned out to be true." June 1, 2009
Swine flu Q&A with UPMC biosecurity expert. Hospital Peer Review.
Dr. Toner discusses issues associated with the spring 2009 H1N1 outbreak. June 1, 2009
H1N1 pandemic: IPs weather first wave, but warn against complacency as virus regroups. Hospital Infection Control.
Dr. Toner comments about spring 2009 H1N1 total case numbers: “We know that people from this country traveled to all different parts of Mexico and became infected. They did not have known contact with people that were sick, which says to me there must have been a considerable amount of community spread throughout Mexico. The denominator of the case fatality ratio must be very large. There are lots and lots of people that did not have serious infections." June 1, 2009
CDC, Hospital IPs on different pandemic page: Hospitals treat H1N1 like seasonal flu. Hospital Infection Control.
Dr. Toner is interviewed extensively about H1N1 and issues that pertain specifically to the hospital setting. May 14, 2009
Lawmaker threatens to force DHS to let employees wear masks, by Alex M. Parker. Government Executive Magazine.
In an article that discusses disease containment measures for DHS workers, Dr. Toner comments about the longevity of the H1N1 outbreak, "We're in the first two weeks of a yearlong outbreak." May 6, 2009
Audio interview with Dr. Eric Toner, by Jim Unland. Journal of Healthcare Economics.
Dr. Toner is interviewed about the H1N1 outbreak, its implications and some lessons learned to date. May 1, 2009
WTOP News Radio, Washington, DC.
Dr. Toner was interviewed about the production of a vaccine for 2009 H1N1 influenza. May 1, 2009
Bush team strategy now Obama's swine flu playbook, by Scott Wilson and Spencer S. Hsu. Washington Post.
Dr. Toner remarked on the decision to close public schools because of the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, "Who's going to take care of all the sick people if all the nurses and health-care workers are home taking care of their kids? And the evidence that school closures are effective is pretty thin." April 29, 2009
Swine flu gives Napolitano second chance. The Hill.
Dr. Toner comments about DHS Secretary Janet Napalitano's response to the 2009 H1N1 outbreak: “She's been handed a remarkable mess,” . . . “I was really impressed that they [federal officials] are handling the nuances of this very well. They are explaining them in very straightforward, clear language that most people can understand.” April 28, 2009
Obama acts to ease flu fears; U.S. says it is prepared, by Robert Pear and Gardiner Harris. New York Times.
Dr. Toner discusses the federal response to the swine flu outbreak: “It can be very dangerous to overreact. And it can be very dangerous to underreact.” . . . “[Obama administration officials] have managed to get it just right.” April 28, 2009
Swine flu outbreak highlights HHS vacancies, by Julie Rovner. National Public Radio, Morning Edition.
Dr. Toner discussed federal interagency coordination and communication on the 2009 H1N1 outbreak: "They explained very complicated issues in a very understandable way; they were calm; they were reassuring, but not overly so; they stressed the serious nature of the outbreak, but without scaring people. They were pitch-perfect; they got it just right." April 27, 2009
WebMD, MedScape Today
Article references the Center for Biosecurity’s report, Hospitals Rising to the Challenge, and quotes Dr. Toner, "The U.S. healthcare system is not currently capable of effectively responding to a sudden surge in demand for medical care that would occur during catastrophic events, such as those described in the Department of Homeland Security...National Planning Scenarios." March 17, 2009
Homeland Security: Inside and Out, hosted by Dave McIntyre and Randy Larsen. Federal News Radio.
Dr. Toner discusses the status of U.S. hospital preparedness and the limitations associated with responding to mass casualty events: “An individual hospital maybe could handle 5 or 6 casualties with serious injuries from an event. Anything much larger than that will require the distribution of patients to multiple facilities and the collaboration between those facilities.” Listen to interview July 26, 2008
Powder scare unnerves East Liberty, by Jill King Greenwood and Tim Puko. Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
With regard to a white powder incident in Pittsburgh, Dr. Toner comments, “It’s an effective way for people who want to cause havoc to get some attention or create a disturbance…Putting some talcum powder in a bag and dropping it somewhere gets a lot of attention and is very disruptive. And there’s nothing we can do about that.” July 1, 2008
Mega disasters: Airborne attack. The History Channel.
Dr. Toner is interviewed for this hour-long feature. June 19, 2008
U.S. President's 2009 biodefense budget proposal calls for overall growth, but some cuts. States News Service.
Dr. Toner cautions,"Unless we address the critical issue of hospital overcrowding, our ability to respond to any sort of biological attack is going to be severely limited." June 2008
Vaccine mishap, flu outbreak overwhelms EDs, highlight lack of surge capacity, by Maryn McKenna. Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Toner comments about the demands that this year's flu season placed on hospitals: "This is a teaching moment for hospital administrations. Emergency departments being overwhelmed is not a problem that can't be fixed." May 21, 2008
Is Milwaukee prepared for a bio-terrorism attack? Reported by Kent Wainscott. WISN, ABC TV Affiliate in Milwaukee, WI.
Dr. Toner comments on the security afforded by BioWatch detectors, "At this point I would say that people who are in cities with BioWatch monitors are no safer than people who are in cities without BioWatch monitors." Watch interview on WISN website March 6, 2008
Five years later, smallpox preparedness improved, by Jeffrey Young. The Hill.
With regard to the federal program to vaccine healthcare workers against smallpox, Dr. Toner notes that the program "was ill-conceived from the beginning." February 29, 2008
KDWN Morning News. Host: Nathan Tannenbaum. KDWN News Radio Las Vegas.
Dr. Toner was interviewed about ricin, following the discovery of the toxin in a Las Vegas hotel room: "Ricin has no use other than as a poison . . . there is no market for ricin itself; you make it from castor beans, and that's not difficult to do." January 29, 2008
Homeland Security Inside and Out. Host: Randy Larsen. KAMU 90.9 FM.
Radio interview with Dr. Toner about a recent incident involving a woman with tuberculosis who flew from India to Chicago and on to San Francisco, and the CDC's response in tracking other airline passengers: "TB is spread through the air, but requires prolonged contact. And so they're (CDC) tracking down people who flew with her from India to Chicago, and not those people who flew from Chicago to San Francisco, because the risk of catching the disease is really quite small with a short exposure." Listen to interview January 1, 2008
HHS draft: Hospitals must purchase antivirals for pandemic influenza. Hospital Employee Health.
With regard to the new ruling that hospitals purchase antivirals for their employees, Dr. Toner notes "It's likely you're not going to get people to work in those units if you don't provide them with prophylaxis." He also notes that "hospitals that have little money to spend are going to take a lot of convincing to spend it on this."
January 1, 2008
'Highest Risk' HCWS to get first pandemic vaccine. Hospital Employee Health.
Report refers to an article published in the journal Biosecurity and Bioterrorism entitled “What Hospitals Should Do to Prepare for an Influenza Pandemic,” by Drs. Toner and Waldhorn of the Center for Biosecurity, and quotes Dr. Toner: "There are so many variables that can't be known until a pandemic starts. . . The best you can do is come up with an initial game plan that has to be modified." December 4, 2007
Flu pandemic would cost hospitals billions, by Michael Smith. MedPage Today.
With regard to a study published in the Journal of Health Care Finance, author Dr. Toner notes “. . .the expected negative financial impact on hospitals of a severe pandemic is significant.” November 20, 2007
Homeland Security Inside and Out. Host: Randy Larsen. KAMU 90.9 FM.
Radio interview with Dr. Toner regarding Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21: “I think this is a remarkable document. . .It touches on what we consider the critical components for the healthcare sector, biosurveillance, countermeasure distribution, and community engagement, so it’s a great document.” Listen to interview June 26, 2007
Homeland Security Inside and Out. Host: Randy Larsen. KAMU 90.9 FM.
Radio interview with Dr. Toner regarding Extensively Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. Dr. Toner comments: ". . . we need rapid diagnostic tests for this organism and for other potentially serious emerging diseases; it shouldn't take us 5 months to make a diagnosis of this condition—we should be able to do it in hours or at least days." Listen to interview May 29, 2007
Homeland Security Inside and Out. Host: Randy Larsen. KAMU 90.9 FM.
Radio interview with Dr. Toner regarding CDC's flu protection guidelines. Dr. Toner notes "If it were a particularly bad strain of pandemic flu, yes, I would wear an N95 [respirator] at close contact [with a person infected with flu], and I would wear a mask out in public in a crowded situation." Listen to interview March 13, 2007
Review finds little evidence of airborne spread of flu, by Maryn McKenna. CIDRAP News.
Dr. Toner is quoted: "A lot of our assumptions turn out to be based on urban legends, or extrapolations made from incomplete information . . ." February 27, 2007
Bird-flu vaccine goes before feds, by George E. Jordan. Star-Ledger (New Jersey).
Regarding an experimental flu vaccine, Dr. Toner notes "This particular vaccine is not an answer to our prayers." February 13, 2007
Homeland Security Inside and Out. Host: Randy Larsen. KAMU 90.9 FM.
Radio interview with Dr. Toner regarding the state of hospital preparedness for large-scale emergencies in the U.S.: "We are concerned about a number of serious disaster scenarios—earthquakes and large-scale terrorism—and we don’t yet have a healthcare system that is at all prepared to handle that. It is a serious issue that needs attention from both the federal government and state government, individual hospitals, and individual communities. Without all these elements working together, we’re not going to get there." Listen to interview February 5, 2007
Hospitals unprepared for pandemic surge, by Dan Childs. ABC News.
Dr. Toner comments: "In a moderate scenario, an additional 19 percent of non-ICU beds, 46 percent of ICU beds and 20 percent of ventilators would be in use by flu patients . . . If we have something like the 1918 pandemic, we're in big trouble." Read interview February 1, 2007
Complacency could be deadly in pandemic. Hospital Employee Health.
Dr. Toner is quoted: "I doubt we could handle a 1968 pandemic now. Our hospitals have trouble dealing with a bad flu season as it is." | 
