Our progress against malaria is impressive. But vigilance remains a critical ingredient to protect the health of all people.

Vaccination is the single most important step people can take to protect themselves from influenza.

We continue to recommend flu vaccine as the single best way to protect yourself against the flu. The vaccine will protect against strains covered in the vaccine, and it may have some effectiveness in the drifted strains.

The way we work in public health is, we make the best recommendations and decisions based on the best available data.

Health care providers can follow guidelines for responsible painkiller prescribing and talk with their patients about the risks and benefits of taking prescription painkillers.

Thanks to malaria elimination efforts in United States in the 1940s, most people in the U.S. today have never had any direct contact with the disease, and most doctors have never seen a case. That success means it's easy to have a relaxed attitude about protecting ourselves.