United we Fall: Preparing for the Next Pandemic

May 8th, 2006 by

The Insider is determined to do its part in preparing the nation for a flu pandemic. Although the President did not specifically mention bloggers in his mobilization plans, we think that blogs offer a unique tool for getting out the word and for maintaining communications under adverse circumstances. Best of all, you don’t have to come within three feet of a blogger to access the information.
The President states that “our efforts require the participation of, and coordination by, all levels of government and segments of society. State and local governments must be prepared, and my Administration will work with them to provide the necessary guidance in order to best protect their citizens. No less important will be the actions of individual citizens, whose participation is necessary to the success of these efforts.”
Initial response to the President’s plans have tended toward scepticism. There seems to be a sense at the state level that the feds don’t plan to take much responsibility; that much of the burden will fall at the state and local levels; and that not much in the way of federal resources will reach the states as they confront the awesome challenges of a pandemic. It’s like waiting for Katrina without a storm track.
Unity or Chaos?
The President tells us that “our Nation will face this global threat united in purpose and united in action in order to best protect our families, our communities, our nation, and our world from the threat of pandemic influenza.” The Insider is not so sure about the unity in action. If the pandemic is as horrific as some project, we may see more chaos than unity. But one way or the other, we’ll probably muddle on through.
For larger businesses who want to give it a shot, the CDC has put together a comprehensive planning checklist. It’s full of generic advice that is certainly useful, but may prove really difficult to implement. For example, one recommendation is to “establish policies for employees who have been exposed to pandemic influenza, are suspected to be ill, or become ill at the worksite (e.g., infection control response, immediate mandatory sick leave).” How would you define and implement “immediate mandatory sick leave”? Many employers will balk at the prospect of uniformed guards, in protective masks, escorting unwilling workers to their cars. Most HR departments would need a few months to work out the kinks in this one policy area.
Basic Hygiene
No matter how sophisticated your planning may be, executing a flu game plan may come down to the basics. People should not get too close to one another (stay at least three feet apart). Most important, people have to know how to cough and sneeze. The government has a poster (available in five languages) here.
Here’s the text of the poster, with a few annotations:
To help stop the spread of germs,
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
[Have you ever noticed how many people routinely fail to do this? For people who do it wrong, should progressive discipline apply, or is it “one unprotected sneeze” and you’re tossed out of the workplace?]
If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands. [Might work in a factory, but not practical for those in Armani suits.]
Put your used tissue in the waste basket. [Most industrial workplaces I’ve toured lack waste baskets.]
Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing. [If you wash after each cough/sneeze, as you’re supposed to, there will be a lot of lost productivity.]
Wash with soap and water. {Assumes that these are readily available.]
or
Clean with alcohol-based hand cleaner.
[Might not be practical in many work environments.]
Just-In-Time Management
I have a strong suspicion that very few companies (and few families) will take the necessary steps to prepare for the Big One. When it comes to what appear to be remote risks, we all practice just-in-time management and hope for the best.
In a pandemic, as long as electrical power is available, people should be able to access computers and communicate over the net. Many, the Insider included, will be able to work from remote locations. Sooner or later you may want to check out an interesting, net-grown resource called fluwiki. Based upon the open-sourced format of Wikipedia, fluwiki is public flu compendium, focused in a very practical way on managing families and businesses during a pandemic. The home-grown survival lists are more entertaining that those provided by the CDC. Even if you are convinced that this pandemic will never happen, you might want to save this site under your favorites for future reference. You never know when it might come in handy.