# 3201
When it comes to being proactive on the pandemic threat, you’d have to go a long way to find a health department more engaged than Seattle-King County’s Public Health.
You don’t have to live in the Pacific Northwest to appreciate, and utilize, their hard work.
Over the past 3 years I’ve highlighted several of their efforts, including one of the best pandemic videos I’ve seen to date. It runs about 20 minutes.
Highly recommended.
Business Not As Usual: Preparing for a Pandemic Flu
Streaming video and downloadable resources for businesses and organizations in Washington state
When you visit the webpage for this video, you’ll find additional downloadable resources.
Although it doesn’t appear (at this time) that we are facing a reprise of the 1918 pandemic, even a mild to moderate pandemic can cause major societal disruptions and claim millions of lives around the world.
Since so few Americans seem to know about the pandemics of the past, particularly the 1918 Spanish Flu, the King County Health Department has published a comic book, available in 12 languages, on that horrific event.
Preparedness comic book in multiple languages
To promote pandemic flu preparedness, Public Health - Seattle & King County has developed a 12-page comic book on pandemic flu. Targeting readers of all ages, this story tells the tale of a family’s experience of the 1918 influenza pandemic. It also explains the threat of pandemic flu today, illustrates what to expect during a pandemic (such as school closures), and offers tips to help households prepare.
Due to limited quantities, we can only grant requests for this publication to street addresses in King County, WA State.
- For requests outside of King County and within Washington state, please order through the Washington State Dept. of Health -- available in English and Spanish only. For other languages, please order through NACCHO as described below or print off the PDF versions.
- For requests from other U.S. states, please order through the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) who will handle nationwide requests through their website (limited quantities available. Scroll down their page until you see links for "No Ordinary Flu".)
- You may also download and print the comic books in PDF format for free
The comic book was created by local artist David Lasky, whose great-great-grandmother died in the 1918 pandemic.
Free to download and print. Highly recommended.
Some other King-County Public Health flu resources you may want to check out include:
Pandemic Flu Planning Guide (PDF)
This 8-page booklet offers a pandemic flu planning checklist, tips for preventing the spread of flu, and a guide to caring for someone with the flu. It was originally written in response to the threat of bird flu, but applies to swine flu or any kind of influenza.
Stop Germs, Stay Healthy! is a public education campaign that encourages and supports healthy behaviors that are effective in limiting the spread of respiratory illnesses such as colds and influenza. Visit the link above to download colorful posters in multiple languages or order free hard copies (for King County, WA State street addresses only.)
Kudos to David Lasky, and the Seattle-King County Health Department for their ongoing work to promote pandemic preparedness.
