Pandemic Flu Forum – The Need to Prepare

The Pandemic Flu Leadership Blog is a five-week long blog campaign to help Americans prepare for a coming pandemic. Each week, a question will be posted and guest bloggers will write about the relevant issue at hand. Comments are open and welcome from everyone.

The blog was launched on May 22 and already have several intelligent debate and comments going back and forth.

Week 1 of the HHS Pandemic Flu leadership blog tackled the need to prepare.

Why should we, as Americans, be concerned about personal preparedness for pandemic influenza? Why is it important that individuals commit to prepare? Why is this particularly important to me, as a community, business/labor, religious, or healthcare leader?

One of the bloggers to tackle this question was Michael Coston of the Avian Flu Diary posting about “Using our time wisely” and I’d like to highlight some of the important points that he raises and issues that we still have to face.

1. The H5N1 virus continues to mutate, spread, infect new hosts. Scientists are no less concerned today than they were a year ago and study the viral evolution closerly.

2. We have the ability to observe this virus as it evolves and moves toward a pandemic strain. Which means,

3. We have the unique opportunity to prepare well. Unlike the generations past.

4. Unless the idea of a pandemic becomes part of public consciousness, the idea of preparing is unlikely to gain traction.

5. A pandemic WILL happen. and it will be ‘very, very bad’. Pandemics, on average, occurs every 30 to 40 years. It’s been 39 years since the last one. Over the past 300 years, we have seen 10 pandemics. Nothing indicates that this will change.

5. It is impossible for the government alone to prepare a nation of 300 million people.

6. There is something that each individual CAN DO to prepare, now. It starts with getting used to certain habits and

7. Basic hygiene tops it all – frequent hand washing, avoiding crowds, covering our mouth when we cough or sneeze, staying home when we are sick or suspect we have been exposed to a virus.

8. Voluntary home quarantines will significantly slow the spread. This means, if one family member is infected, everyone in the household need to stay home.

9. Preparing to stay home – having the supplies needed for weeks of “sheltering in place”, being self-sufficient – will secure their safety and protect their community. In a pandemic, two weeks of supplies may not be enough.

10. Household need to be equiiped and informed to take their own medical needs during a pandemic.

11. Preparing today, while supplies are abundant and the supply chain is intact, is the most ethical and most essential thing you can do.

12. Once a pandemic is on our doorstep, our time to prepare will have ended.

Tags: avian flu, flu pandemic, flu, preparations, Flu preparedness leadership forum