State urges Vermonters to prepare for pandemic

[Another_David]

I don't suppose ammo is edible.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ve...repare_for_pandemic/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed2

COLCHESTER, Vt.—The Vermont Department of Health is urging residents to prepare for a possible worldwide flu pandemic by stocking their pantries with enough food to stay home for two weeks.

People should buy things like dried foods that have a long shelf life, said Health Commissioner Wendy Davis.

"The idea behind that is that people might need to be home for a period even of up to two weeks while everybody's getting over being ill and while we're trying to contain the spread of illness," Davis said.

Public health officials say that during a flu pandemic families won't be able to go to work, school or the store and businesses will have to be able to operate for weeks without employees showing up for work.

Burlington is one of nine communities around the country taking part in a pilot project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to get ready for what scientists believe is the coming pandemic.

As evidence, experts point to the virulent, deadly flu strain that spread across the globe in 1918 and killed millions.

"And we think it's not unlikely that it could occur fairly soon," Davis said.

Some of the foods the Health Department is recommending people stock up on are peanut butter, jelly, dried milk, raisins, nuts, cans of pumpkin, diced tomatoes, rice, pasta, flour and sugar.

The Health Department estimates it would cost about $200 for a family of four to have enough food for two weeks.

 

[Twigg]

Just showed this to Mrs Twigg. Now she knows why I like to keep the pantry filled. She seems to agree with me now.

Generally a good idea even without the threat of a pandemic.

 

[theGringo]

I've been stocking up a little bit at a time, for a variety of reasons. Dry goods, canned goods ... fully stocked upright freezer. But two weeks worth of food is no problem for me. When the grocery store is a 50 mile round trip, you shop big. I could go a month without rationing, I reckon. Two months if I have to skimp.

 

[HangEmHigh]

Is anyone acquiring Tamiflu? From what Ive read its not a cure to avian flu, but somewhat effective. I have a friend that was looking to buy some from a Canadian mail order pharmacy. If you have any experience with that, PM me and Ill be sure he gets the message.

 

[hminsky]

three months would be more realistic in case of a pandemic, but they don' t want to freak people out too much.

I think having antibiotics for post flu respiratory illness like pneumonia would be more use than tamiflu. it would be a shame to survive the flu and succumb to something treatable.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Anybody that lives in Vermont (or anywhere in the northern US) that dosen't already have, and always keep "two weeks" worth of food in their home is probably a city slicker or "flat lander" as they say, from either MA, CT,RI,NY or NJ.

And two weeks worth as suggested by their dept of health isn't going to do shit in the long run. As posted above, three months is more like it and that might be marginal depending on when a pandemic hit. Couple a pandemic with a brutal cold snowy winter and things could be prolonged.

 

[Mach]

2 weeks? they are kidding right? 2 weeks is nothing. 3 months to a year is the way to go.

 

[lrdwilder]

Got to tell you.....I worked for EMS for 4 years.....EVERY SINGLE YEAR.....we had a training run by doctors from the CDC....and each and every single year they warned us that THIS was the year the Pandemic was coming....and that THIS was the year of the Avian (Bird Flu)....and that it was going to cripple the state.......I've yet to see it.......and more importantly, the infection can easily be prevented with an N95 mask and a little protection.....Personally....I have 2 boxes on N95 resp masks.....2 boxes of nitrile gloves (the biggest transmitter of disease is surfaces) and bottle of tylenol for any headaches or fevers............as for time frame......I'm not saying we can't be crippled by this, but also its worth noting that in the City of Boston there is located one of the strategic emergency medical stockpiles (eg. Vacines, and Treatments). This is what is actually what is called the 24hr push pack, by FEMA, it can be deployed and opened and ready to use in 24hrs....A lot of training was done on this and of allthe things I am confident in happeneing. I am confident of the push pack deployment....afte that...who knows!

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Got to tell you.....I worked for EMS for 4 years.....EVERY SINGLE YEAR.....we had a training run by doctors from the CDC....and each and every single year they warned us that THIS was the year the Pandemic was coming....and that THIS was the year of the Avian (Bird Flu)....and that it was going to cripple the state.......I've yet to see it.......and more importantly, the infection can easily be prevented with an N95 mask and a little protection.....Personally....I have 2 boxes on N95 resp masks.....2 boxes of nitrile gloves (the biggest transmitter of disease is surfaces) and bottle of tylenol for any headaches or fevers............as for time frame......I'm not saying we can't be crippled by this, but also its worth noting that in the City of Boston there is located one of the strategic emergency medical stockpiles (eg. Vacines, and Treatments). This is what is actually what is called the 24hr push pack, by FEMA, it can be deployed and opened and ready to use in 24hrs....A lot of training was done on this and of allthe things I am confident in happeneing. I am confident of the push pack deployment....afte that...who knows!

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COLCHESTER, Vt.—The Vermont Department of Health is urging residents to prepare for a possible worldwide flu pandemic by stocking their pantries with enough food to stay home for two weeks.

People should buy things like dried foods that have a long shelf life, said Health Commissioner Wendy Davis.

"The idea behind that is that people might need to be home for a period even of up to two weeks while everybody's getting over being ill and while we're trying to contain the spread of illness," Davis said.

Public health officials say that during a flu pandemic families won't be able to go to work, school or the store and businesses will have to be able to operate for weeks without employees showing up for work.
----------------------------------------------

Some of the foods the Health Department is recommending people stock up on are peanut butter, jelly, dried milk, raisins, nuts, cans of pumpkin, diced tomatoes, rice, pasta, flour and sugar.

The Health Department estimates it would cost about $200 for a family of four to have enough food for two weeks.
------------------------------------------------

The intent of the article was to promote the ability of people to "self quarantine", thereby reducing the necessity for them to travel to other pouplated areas and spread the infection and to reduce the burden on the government's and medical worker's to tend to those who should help themselves PRE flu pandemic.

Your EMS service is admirable, I work as a first responder also, but that doesn't mean that I don't or wouldn't do everything I could to enable my own ability to self quarantine if necessary for an extended period.

The "push pack" could very well turn out to be a bandaid on an arterial bleed.
The flu that creates the pandemic could be one plane ride away from widespread dispersion to the general public here.

Most of that public are NOT anywhere near prepared to self quarantine for any extended period of time. Additionally, most people don't even know what an N95 mask is, nor would they wear one even if given to them in quantity.

Isolation is the best possible prevention method and preparation for that isolation is the best possible path towards it's success.

I've seen some of the answers to the potential problems and some of them are more than farcical. Individual preparedness trumps any potential response that government or the medical community could possibly unfold in most crises.

 

[MACGYVR]

The pandemic will only occur when the govt infects their own people with their manufactured flu.

Ever see Outbreak????

sometimes life imitates art....

 

[Viper22]

The pandemic will only occur when the govt infects their own people with their manufactured flu.

Ever see Outbreak????

sometimes life imitates art....

The book is much better. Author is Robin Cook, IIRC.

 

[KMaurer]

Every year there are roughly 30K deaths in the US resulting from the use or misuse of firearms. The highest ever was nearly 40K in 1993. In comparison, between 35K and 40K people die from influenza during a normal year, with no particularly virulent or severe strain. Worldwide, the numbers are typically several hundred thousand. During lesser pandemics such as the '68-'69 Hong Kong flu, worldwide deaths run to a million or more. The 1918-1920 pandemic is estimated to have killed somewhere between 75 and 100 million, including between 500K and 700K in the US (out of a population less than 1/3 of today's). While this particular strain is believed to have started around Ft Riley, Kansas, two of the early major outbreaks were at Ft Devens and the Charlestown Navy Yard.

Ken

 

[offcamber]

Seems every year they say will be a BAD flew year and you better get a shot...the truth is the vaccine is only good for one strain of flu virus..they are just making a guess at which one will crop up and produce a a vaccine for that one then tell everyone to get it....in acutallity you are only protected from that one kind of flu....

 

[hminsky]

Seems every year they say will be a BAD flew year and you better get a shot...the truth is the vaccine is only good for one strain of flu virus..they are just making a guess at which one will crop up and produce a a vaccine for that one then tell everyone to get it....in acutallity you are only protected from that one kind of flu....

I thought they used a mix of three of the strains which were predicted to be most contagious. But yeah, it is certainly possible to be immunized against the wrong virus. Still better than nothing though.

I think there has been a lot of work done to raise awareness, but most people still don't understand that there is a qualitative difference between the flu that usually goes around ,and a flu like the "Spanish Flu" which killed during the 1918 flu epidemic. People were dying quickly and at a fatality rate of something like 2%. That was pretty devastating. The avian flu appears to be well above 50% fatality rate which is a whole different thing altogether.

What is infuriating is that Indonesia, which has had the most cases, has some kind of an insane health minister who is refusing to release statistics about cases, refusing to release any virus samples so that vaccines can be developed, and accusing the US of planting the virus. She needs to be taken out by the CIA I think. Indonesia is brewing a bio threat to the whole world, and nobody is intervening.