Opposites Attack
This morning we are getting a glimpse of how two communities are attacking the avian flu pandemic threat. I think you will be surprised by what you read.
This article appeared in this mornings paper.
County's Pandemic flu plan kept secret
CHARLES STANLEY, mbureau@mywebtimes.com, (815) 795-2023
La Salle County has a preliminary written plan for dealing with a pandemic flu outbreak that has been filed with the state. But the plan is not now -- and perhaps may never be -- available to the public.
Julie Kerestes, the county's public health administrator, said a draft of the plan had been shared with community hospitals, schools, law enforcement agencies and other "players" to see where they fit in so a more comprehensive plan could be put together.
"But I'm not sure it's a public document I want to be releasing," she said Thursday.
The secrecy is not limited to the pandemic flu plan, she pointed out.
"We have other emergency plans here, other plans of operation that I don't consider public knowledge that we wouldn't give out to the public."
County Board Member Bill Johnson, D-Peru, president of the La Salle County Board of Health, said Thursday he was puzzled to hear the plan was not public. And Marius Derango, D-Peru, chairman of the County Board's Health & Coroner Committee, said he did not recall his committee reviewing the plan before it was submitted to the state.
http://mywebtimes.com/ottnews/archives/ottawa/sections.cgi?prcss=display&id=265517
I guess the County Board’s Health & Coroner Committee doesn’t have a need to know. But then, neither does the public. This is a shameful way to conduct public business. I can think of two good reasons not to share this pandemic plan with the people they work for. Either they have no plan (nothing that will work, anyway), or the details are so alarming, they dare not reveal them. I’m glad I don’t live in Illinois.
Now, let’s visit Arizona, where they are talking far more openly, and realistically, about pandemic concerns. . .
Education 1st step in dealing with pandemic
By M.J. SMITH
Sunday, August 13, 2006 8:38 PM PDT
BULLHEAD CITY - Experts agree it's not a matter of if a flu pandemic will strike the United States but when and how the virus will spread.
Arizona has held a series of forums during the last several months in hopes of preparing communities for the devastation of a flu pandemic. Western Arizona Regional Medical Center is working to assure the highest level of preparedness, officials said.
“The first thing we need to do is educate the public prior to the onset of an emergency,” said WARMC Infection Control Practitioner Pam Nolting. “People can prepare for a disaster in their homes if they know what to expect.”
To avoid a mad rush of frenzied, worried people, storming grocery store shelves and pharmacy supplies, Nolting recommends people prepare in advance.
“Start stockpiling three months of medication and food stores,” she said. “A clean garbage can is great for storing dry food and nonperishable items.”
According to projections, the flu pandemic will kill a maximum of 40 percent of those who contract the illness, down from the 50 percent succumbing in the third world countries currently dealing with the Avian Influenza, said WARMC Director of Cardiopulmonary Services Gary Lynch, who is a member of the pandemic flu response team.
“We wont know for sure until it actually hits, but a pandemic flu is going to affect millions,” he said. “One thing that's unusual about a pandemic flu is that it will hit people in the 20- to 40-year-old range. Usually healthy people in the middle age range are not at risk for influenza. It usually strikes young children and the elderly, but a pandemic flu will most affect that middle range group.”
“It's very likely that a pandemic will disrupt every day routines, such as school, public gatherings, even church,” he said. “All services will be disrupted, electricity, water, police and fire. Will there be enough people well and available to continue these services?”
One of the main concerns at the state level is whether local facilities will have a sufficient supply of ventilators, Lynch said.
“We have received a grant from the state to purchase more ventilators,” he said. “But, everyone else is doing the same thing so there is a back log.”
This is an excellent article, and I urge my readers to read it in its entirety.
For the first time, we see public officials admitting the mortality rate here could be far higher than the laughably optimistic 2.5% we’ve been hearing for months. And of course, they recommend 3 months personal stockpiling, which far exceeds the 2 weeks suggested by most officials.
Dire predictions, even by State Officials, don't guarantee that they will occur. But at least in Arizona, they are recognizing the potential. Right or wrong, they will certainly be in better shape to deal with whatever happens, than those states that have their heads buried deep in the sand.
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