# 848
A pandemic is a world problem, and would affect nearly everyone on the globe. But nearly all of the solutions will have to be found locally. Unless governments and research laboratories find a magic bullet, a vaccine that can be quickly produced and distributed, the only recourse is to endure the crisis.
Governments can help, of course. But most will be stretched to the breaking point, and it will be local communities who will decide the outcome for the average citizen. How well they prepare, adapt, and respond will make a tremendous difference.
Unfortunately, local communities are the weak link. Most are not planning, and many are simply oblivious to the potential threat. They believe the Federal or State government will handle it, if it does come. And they are destined to be greatly disappointed.
The biggest problem is awareness. Most people simply don't believe it could happen; not here, not in our modern day and age. Pandemics, they think, are so 19th Century. We are beyond that sort of thing now.
Of course, we aren't. Pandemics are a fact of life, just like Category 5 Hurricanes, great earthquakes, and giant tsunamis. They don't happen often, but they do happen. And they will continue to happen.
The Department of Health and Human Services has been trying to promote pandemic awareness for more than 18 months, and has put up a website called www.pandemicflu.gov where citizens can get more information. Sadly, few have bothered. It hasn't attracted the interest, or spurred the action, the HHS had hoped for.
Admittedly, the HHS has a problem. Shout `Pandemic' too loudly, and you sound alarmist. Whisper it, and no one listens. They are looking for a middle road, one that spurs reasonable preparation and action on the part of local authorities and citizens, but doesn't spread undo alarm. And it isn't easy.
Despite their admirable attempts at getting the word out, the HHS has gotten little backup from politicians or other agencies. They have been content to let the HHS take the lead, and lurk somewhere safely in the shadows. After the perceived debacle of Swine Flu in 1976, few in Washington have the stomach to involve themselves in pandemic warnings.
The Pandemic Flu Leadership Blog, sponsored by the HHS, is a novel attempt to get the word out to the local level. How successful that will be depends a lot on how the local media responds to it. Most have, thus far, ignored it.
With 3 weeks left to run, we can still promote this experiment in two-way communication between the government and its citizens on pandemic preparedness. We can direct our local media's attention to the HHS site, and request coverage. The more eyes, and participants, we can get on this site the greater the awareness that will spread.
I directed my local newspaper to the site last week, and they will run an article next week on my involvement. Nice, as far as that goes. But the editor and I discussed the need to inform the community, on an ongoing basis, and we've come up with a plan. I will be providing the paper with a bi-weekly column on pandemic preparedness, starting in July.
Basically, an extension of what I do here on the Internet, but geared to a local audience. Sure, it's a small paper, but it will have an impact on my community.
This is something others can do as well. They can contact their local papers, send them to the HHS site, and offer to write a column, or articles, on pandemic awareness.
In order to promote awareness, we need to talk about pandemic preparations openly, honestly, and often.
The Internet is a great way to do that, but millions of people either don't have access, or would never find avian flu information in their daily surfing. Local media sources are a terrific way to get the word out.
Try it. You might be pleasantly surprised at the reaction.
