# 2190
From Lisa Schnirring of CIDRAP (Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy) News we get an excellent overview of the recent GAO report on how well states are preparing for a pandemic, and their need for more guidance from the Federal government.
Here are just the leading paragraphs to this story, follow the link to read the entire article.
GAO: States want more pandemic planning guidance
Lisa Schnirring
Staff Writer
Jul 29, 2008 (CIDRAP News) – Despite a wide range of pandemic planning guidance documents from federal and private groups, states say they still need more information from federal officials, particularly on community mitigation measures, fatality management, and supporting medical surge efforts, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported recently.
The GAO released its findings on Jul 19 in a 52-page report posted on its Web site. Members of Congress had asked the GAO to describe how states and localities were preparing for a pandemic, along with how they handled their pandemic exercises, what they learned from them, and how the federal government can better assist state and local officials with pandemic planning.
The GAO based its findings on visits to the five most populous states, California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas, and ten localities within them. The localities included five urban areas—Los Angeles County, Miami, Chicago, New York City, and Dallas—and five rural counties: Stanislaus County, California; Taylor County, Florida; Peoria County, Illinois; Washington County, New York; and Angelina County, Texas. Taken together, the areas include a third of the US population and account for a third of federal funds for pandemic planning exercises, and they also are border areas or international travel hubs. All 15 of the sites had developed pandemic plans.
