Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Flu: The Bush Plan

Of course, this is all over the news now. And a good thing too.

Two links, with more than enough information to zap multitudes of neurons.

NPR's flu page

Influenza pandemic's set of links including bloggers who rip it the plan to shreds.

and

The official US flu site (to be blogrolled)

I've just heard NPR's story on it on All Things Considered, and haven't read much. I'm no expert anyway, so my opinion counts for squat.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm please to see the interest of the White House, but the plan appears to be collected thoughts without any true structure. Because it's not a comprehensive plan, I then assume that the news was intended to be a distraction from other events within the White House (I won't digress in this direction).

Issues with the plan:
-No clear indication of who is in charge (Homeland Security, FEMA, Health & Human Services?).
If we recall the federal government's response to hurricanes, then this should be a greater concern. The plan needs a clear chain of command.
-The amount of Tamiflu stockpile is insufficient. It's my understanding that to stop a pandemic, a community must have 25-40% of a vaccine to stop the spread.
The White House indicated that it is only focusing on a 15% stockpile in the event of a pandemic. That is a medical crapshoot.
-State governments will have to pay for the cost of the Tamiflu.
This is an unfunded mandate set forth by the federal government. There are a number of states that would be unable to cover the cost of the vaccine. Can LA or MS cover this added cost along with reconstruction? If a state cannot pay, then will that state not receive Tamiflu for its citizens?

Because the White House didn’t provide a clear plan, I believe that they are addressing an issue without providing any details. Without details, one doesn’t have a plan at all.

Because it wasn’t a plan, the White House instead held a press conference with words. The question the active citizen must ask – is the White House serious about a potential pandemic or using it as part of a political agenda.

Let’s hope our nation’s leaders are serious about fighting this pandemic.

Sincerely,

Dogwood