After recorded seasonal influenza vaccination rates among VHA healthcare personnel plummeted 21% last year compared with 2009-2010, the agency has set an aggressive goal of vaccinating 85% of healthcare workers during the 2011-2012 flu season.

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Even after they are safely transported for medical treatment far from the combat zone, wounded servicemembers face powerful adversaries: multidrug-resistant organisms, which pose a greater risk to today’s injured servicemembers than those of past wars.

WASHINGTON — Last year, a “perfect storm” seemed to result in more prescriptions filled by TRICARE’s mail-order pharmacy, and Chief of Pharmaceutical Operations Rear Adm. Thomas McGinnis said he hopes the trend will continue in 2012.

WASHINGTON — Unless FDA knows of a potential drug shortage in advance, the agency is not very effective in preventing or controlling that shortage, according to a recent government report.

WASHINGTON — A new survey of teen drug use shows that, while alcohol use continues its long-term decline, marijuana use has surprisingly spiked, suggesting a changing attitude among teens about the dangers of its regular use. The survey, officials said, can act as a road map for prevention efforts.

WASHINGTON — In an unprecedented move, a federal panel has asked scientists and science journals to curtail the publication of research into avian flu (H5N1). The request has led to heated discussions among the scientific community and to a temporary moratorium on some avian flu research.