Washington – President Bush’s plan for dealing with a flu pandemic warns that the federal government won’t be able to bail out communities reeling from illness and economic upheaval, and calls on businesses and individuals to take steps now to keep vital services running.
The updated plan, released Wednesday, stresses basic human needs such as medical care and food, but doesn’t address some major hurdles – how to meet those needs if massive absenteeism stops transportation by closing oil refineries, or crashes the Internet so workers can’t telecommute.
“Our efforts require the participation of, and coordination by, all levels of government and segments of society,” Bush said in a letter to Americans unveiling his updated national pandemic response strategy.
Last fall, amid concerns that the Asian bird flu might lead to a massive pandemic if it starts spreading easily from person to person, Bush proposed a $7.1 billion, multi-year strategy to combat such an outbreak.
At the plan’s core: stockpiling enough bird-flu vaccine for 20 million people, plus anti-flu medications and other key medical supplies, to provide some protection while manufacturers race to brew a pandemic-specific inoculation.
Wednesday’s report updates Bush’s initial plan, outlining exactly which government agency is responsible for some 300 additional tasks.
It also provides details, beyond health care, of changes Americans could expect in how they travel, work and conduct day-to-day activities during a pandemic.
The report’s big message: “Local communities will have to address the medical and nonmedical impacts of the pandemic with available resources.” That’s because the federal government won’t be able to offer the kind of aid expected after hurricanes or other natural disasters, it says.
