Three Federal Agencies Join with Sesame Workshop to Launch National PSA Campaign Stressing Healthy Habits to Prevent H1N1 Flu Infection

The Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Education and Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, have teamed up to launch a new, national public service advertising campaign designed to encourage American children and families to practice healthy habits and to take steps to prevent the spread of the 2009 H1N1 flu virus. The PSAs featured in this campaign can be viewed on www.flu.gov.

During the spring, the Sesame Workshop produced four different versions of a television PSAsfeaturing Sesame Street's Elmo and Gordon explaining the importance of practicing healthy habits such as washing your hands, sneezing into the bend of your arm, and avoiding contact with your eyes, nose and mouth. They have now been reformatted to promote www.flu.gov, the federal government's one-stop website for all the latest information on the new H1N1 virus and the seasonal flu. The PSAs will be distributed nationwide and will be supported in airtime donated by television stations.

"We are thrilled to partner with Elmo, Gordon, and Sesame Workshop again to emphasize the steps kids and their parents can take to stay happy and healthy this school year," said Secretary Sebelius. "Younger children and their parents are some of the people most at risk from the new H1N1 flu virus and with schools starting back up again and the weather starting to get colder, we need to do everything we can to get these important messages about how to prevent the spread of the flu out there.

"The first day of National Preparedness Month is a great reminder that personal preparedness starts at home and these PSAs promote simple things we can all do to stay healthy and safe," said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano."

"We want to keep our children safe, healthy, and learning. By practicing prevention, close monitoring and common sense, we can help prevent the spread of H1N1 and seasonal flu among children and young people this year" Secretary Duncan said. "Having Elmo and our friends at Seasame Street help get that message out there will be a tremendous help."

"Sesame Street's Elmo can be a powerful messenger in delivering simple, yet compelling messages that teach a child to wash their hands and cover their mouth this flu season," said Gary E. Knell, President and CEO, Sesame Workshop. "These vital prevention messages must be part of a larger flu strategy and Sesame Workshop is proud to be partnering with the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that parents and their young children receive the information they need to stay healthy."

In late May, Sesame Workshop first partnered with the Department of Health and Human Services on a new PSA campaign focused on the importance of providing parents, teachers and children with accurate information about how to practice healthy habits, highlighting proper hand washing and simple everyday actions that lead to staying healthy and keeping germs away. The PSAs are an extension of Sesame's Healthy Habits for Life initiative, which helps young children and their caregivers establish an early foundation of healthy habits.

On a global scale, Sesame Workshop was the first nonprofit to respond to the flu outbreak in Mexico, with the immediate creation of four PSAs featuring the beloved Muppets of Plaza Sésamo and several Mexican celebrities who donated their time to the cause. The flu prevention messaging has reached millions of children and their families both in Mexico and the United States.

The PSAs are part of an initiative to provide practical steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help prevent the spread of the flu virus and other infectious disease, including:

* Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
* Keep your distance from others if you are sick.
* When possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick, and don't send your children to childcare or school if they are sick.
* Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
* Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing and sneezing.
* Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

The Department of Health and Human Services will be distributing the PSAs via satellite to television stations nationwide later this afternoon. Feed information will be sent out later today.

For more information on how to take steps to prevent the flu, visit www.flu.gov.

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Obama Administration Calls on Nation to Begin Planning and Preparing for Fall Flu Season & the New H1N1 Virus

The Obama Administration sent a strong message to the nation today that it is time to start planning and preparing for the fall flu season and the ongoing H1N1 flu outbreak and that the federal government is prepared to commit resources, training, and new tools to help state and
local governments and America's families get ready.

White House Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined with delegations from 54 states, tribes and territories today at the H1N1 Influenza Preparedness Summit at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., to kick-off the government's nation-wide fall flu preparedness efforts.

"The President and the administration are actively engaged in mitigating the effects of the H1N1 flu virus and developing a national response framework and action plan that builds on the efforts and lessons learned from this spring's initial onset to prepare for the possibility of a
more serious fall outbreak of the virus," said White House Homeland Security Advisor Brennan in his address to summit participants.

"Over the course of coming weeks and months, we will move aggressively to prepare the nation for the possibility of a more severe outbreak of the H1N1 virus," said HHS Secretary Sebelius. "We ask the American people to become actively engaged with their own preparation and
prevention. It's a responsibility we all share."

"The federal government is working together with its federal, state, local and tribal partners to develop a nation-wide plan to combat the H1N1 flu that incorporates the lessons we learned this spring," said Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano. "The H1N1 Summit will allow us to continue this aggressive preparation for all possible H1N1 virus outbreak scenarios to ensure that we are doing everything possible to keep our country safe and healthy."

"Effectively dealing with a potential H1N1 outbreak requires all of us -- parents, educators, health providers, and local, state and federal governments -- working together on our emergency management plan," said Education Secretary Duncan. "Today's Flu Summit is an important step in that direction. Our primary goals at the Department of Education are the health and well being of students, faculty and staff, and ensuring that, in the event of any school closures, the learning process will continue."

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley moderated a Governors panel with participation via videolink from Governor Jim Douglas of Vermont, Governor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin, Governor Mark Parkinson of Kansas, Governor John Baldacci of Maine and Governor Jodi Rell of Connecticut.

"When responding to a national pandemic or a national recession, the basic principles of smart government remain the same -- to increase efficiency, openness, and transparency in everything we do. Today's summit illustrates our collective commitment to that goal," said Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. "The experience in the spring taught us that while earlier pandemic flu planning efforts were effective, there are also areas for improvement. Effective response requires accurate and timely information that is as close to real time as possible. We share the commitment of the Obama Administration to constantly monitor, evaluate and improve these processes as we continue to lead the world in emergency preparedness."

Throughout the one-day summit, Administration officials laid out specific ways that states and local governments could start their planning and preparation efforts and announced new programs and resources to help state and local governments, the medical community and every day America prepare for H1N1 and the fall flu season.

First, HHS will make available preparedness grants worth a total of $350 million. These grants were funded by Congress in the latest supplemental appropriations bill and they will give state and local public health offices and health care systems valuable resources to step up their
preparedness efforts.

Second, the federal government will centralize communications about H1N1 and seasonal flu on the federal government's new Web site www.flu.gov. This one-stop comprehensive site brings together flu-related information from across HHS and other federal agencies. The expanded site builds on the pandemic planning information long presented on www.pandemicflu.gov, and incorporates information about the novel H1N1 flu as well as the seasonal flu.

Finally, HHS is launching a new PSA campaign contest to encourage more Americans to get involved in the nation's flu preparedness efforts by making a 15-second or 30-second PSA. Officials at the summit stressed the idea of "shared responsibility" when it comes to combating the flu and the goal of the new HHS PSA campaign contest is to tap into the nation's creativity to help educate Americans about how to plan for and prevent the spread of H1NI influenza. HHS will evaluate submissions and will present the best PSAs back to the public so everyone can vote on their favorite submission. The winning PSA will receive $2,500 in cash and will appear on national television. Contest details as well more information about the larger effort to plan and prepare for the flu season are available at www.flu.gov.

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