“One topic that is too often ignored in the many stories about pandemics and bird flu is how very disruptive a pandemic like the one in 1918 is to everyday life. South Carolina reporter Amanda Ridley writes, ‘… if a pandemic strikes again, life as it exists today would stop. Quarantines would be ordered by state public health officials and enforced by the local government. There would be no quick trips to the grocery store – because they would all be closed.’ Officials recommend that people have enough food, water and medications to last three months. Sounds a little like Y2K again, doesn’t it? Still, history indicates that we are due for another influenza pandemic. Most of us in the US have become very dependent on government and business services for our everyday needs. We don’t have water wells in the back yard or a root cellar and garden to provide food. As in other emergencies, government and health official do not have a magic solution that will let people continue to live as usual. Instead, we have to depend on our own resources and that of our communities.”
The preceding comments are taken from the Townsend Letter for Doctors, December 2006, Shorts briefed by Jule Klotter, Flu Vaccine Efficacy:
A Point of Interest for Members
From THE BRIDGE Newsletter of OIRF
Published February 2007
The Townsend Letter for Doctors
© Copyright 2006, Jule Klotter, Washington USA
