- Hello Jeff - I want to make the point that the US
is, by NO MEANS, ready to handle a major contagious bioterrorist event.
The events of this past week speak loudly to that fact.
-
- Health Departments and Clinics were in total chaos as
they tried to meet the demand in the form of long lines of senior citizens,
infirmed, as well as young children waiting for flu shots.
-
- In New York City, the frailest of citizens lined up
at 3 am waiting to get a flu shot. The health department opened its doors
at its regular time and alerted the blocks long line that they had to go
to a school down the block for the shots. Frail elderly in wheel chairs
and pushing walkers made the journey to the school with strained strides.
Unfortunately, many of the folks went home disappointed and sans flu
vaccine shots.
-
- What IF? Yes, What IF the medication they were seeking
was antibiotics or antivirals needed to save their lives due to a bioterrorist
event?
-
- It is painfully obvious that all of the homeland security
drills and simulations haven't provided "lessons learned." What
good are the simulations if they don't translate into "real life?"
-
- The flu vaccine is being given out hapazardly with NO
planning. Health Department employees are in the dark and don't know what
to tell clients? ....I only see more of the same when flu season gets
into full swing. Hospitals are not ready to handle large numbers of ill.
-
- Given all of the chaos, should a bioevent occur during
this flu season, I forsee Health and Human Services incompetance costing
lives, maybe millions of lives across the country. HHS still doesn't know
what to do, how to handle the event, or, even how to provide medication
to the public.
-
- This situation is compounded by risky 1918 flu virus
research that is being done in BSL 3. The Kawaoka research team at Univ.
of Wisconsin feels that they no longer need BSL 4 biosecurity to work with
the new chimera letal type A influenza. Why? According to Dr. Kawaoka,
we have tamiful if the virus escapes. I hate to tell him that tamiful
does not work on all individuals especially those who are elderly or have
compromised immune systems. Dr. Kawaoka's indignent attitude and huberice
just does not allow him to see the bigger picture. The SARS virus breached
biosecurity three time and killed several researchers as well as civililans
when it escaped.
-
- Many scientists have spoken up with regard to Dr. Kawaoka's
dropping the BSL 4 to a BSL 3, even the Promed moderators from Harvard
have voiced reservations to the risk and hope Dr. Kawaoka will return to
BSL 4.
-
- I sincerely think that a country which is unprepared
and experiencing total chaos in an attempt to get flu shots to the public,
is totally unprepared to handle a major bioterrorist event. Maybe it is
time we fire the incompetents in HHS, NIH, as well as the medical decision
makers who cannot even provide flu vaccine to the nation during a vaccine
shortage.
-
- If we can't get flu vaccine to people who need it, how
are we ever going to get antibiotics or antivirals to the entire US population
during a bioterrorist event?
-
- I personally think that "the inmates are running
the asylum on this one." The bioterrorist experts better get back
to the drawing board.
-
- Patricia Doyle
- Patricia A. Doyle, PhD
- Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message
board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?
Cat=&Board=emergingdiseases
- Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
- Go with God and in Good Health
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