RSS
Home
Swine flu hits Colorado: Will our law enforcement and health agencies be ready?
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
A worker adjusts a face mask at a hospital equipment factory
near Barcelona, Spain. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Two people in Colorado have become the state’s first confirmed cases of swine flu. A press conference is scheduled momentarily to provide more information. This lumps Colorado with the other 11 states with confirmed swine flu cases. With the WHO inching the swine flu threat closer and closer to a pandemic, more people are wondering whether or not our state (and our country, and the world) will be ready for worst-case scenarios.
Although the avian flu fears never materialized on a world-threatening scale, the potential risks forced the country, and Colorado, to foresee and plan for a possible pandemic. Officials are working to have accurate information disbursed to the public in a timely manner. The government’s pandemic flu website reflects the national strategy in case of pandemic. Colorado itself has received over $6 million specifically for pandemic planning. The Colorado Department of Health provides additional resources, as well as a “get ready” checklist.
Pandemics are not without precedent. Colorado has experienced three pandemic influenzas in the last century (1918, 1957 and 1968). The planning has been done; the funds have been provided. Yet everyone knows the real test is putting the plans into action. Of particular concern is law enforcement. The government has dedicated an entire site to law enforcement’s reaction to a pandemic, and the government’s pandemic preparedness website notes to healthcare workers that they should be prepared for a breakdown in law and order.
Preparation, by definition, prepares for worst-case scenarios. The ubiquitous information available on the internet comes with the consequence that rumors spread like wildfire on social networking sites. It is likely the dystopian fears of many will never come to fruition. For now, it’s enough to know that our agencies have planned for this occurrence and that strategies are in place. Oh, and I might just go wash my hands one more time.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
