The Niles Star

Editorial: Government should own up to lack of flu preparedness

Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

Earlier this year, Congress eliminated nearly $900 million to combat a flu epidemic from the economic stimulus package in an effort to gain GOP support for the plan.

In a USA Today article published last April, Robert Pestronk, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, called the move “short-sighted.”

In the wake of the novel H1N1 flu scare, which had infected thousands of people worldwide, the Senate pushed through $1.5 billion in pandemic preparedness last May.
According to a study conducted by Market Research Media of global pandemic influenza preparedness, in the past five years, government spending internationally has more than tripled from $2.2 billion in 2004 to $7 billion in 2009, and forecasts indicate that should continue to grow.

But the current status of immunization availability has shown that the federal government was and is clearly not prepared to tackle this pandemic.

Locally, schools have been closing because of high numbers of ill students, and employers face the challenges of working with fewer employees, who are gone either because they are sick themselves or they are caring for their own sick children.

Health officials have expressed their frustrations over the lack of consistency and communication from the feds in regard to doses of H1N1 vaccine.

The Berrien County Health Department has just received a shipment of the vaccine, and although they would not reveal the number of doses that will be available, they said all high-risk people should be covered. Future “waves” of vaccine will come eventually, but they do not know when. The department will provide the first “wave” of vaccine in Berrien Springs on Nov. 1 and Niles on Nov. 6.

“High-risk” people include pregnant women; people ages 6 months to 24 years; individuals who are or live with infants under 6 months; health care workers with direct patient contact; and those 25-64 with underlying medical conditions, like diabetes, cancer and some disorders. People 65 and older will receive vaccines in the second “wave.”
Although H1N1 flu does not pose a serious threat to “low-risk” people, an earlier availability of the vaccine may have prevented the number of absences in places like schools.

The fact that even health officials are being left in the dark about many facets of the situation begs the question: What has all the pandemic preparedness training and funding done for when an actual crisis arises? Many health workers will confirm they have undergone emergency preparedness training – the concept is nothing new, especially with past scares like SARS and avian flu.

There are many questions they need to be answered, and it is our hope that the federal government will own up to its mistakes before the next pandemic.