Many state and local governments aren't adequately prepared to handle a surge of patients in a flu pandemic or quickly distribute vaccine and antiviral drugs, according to 2 reports by federal investigators being released on Monday. The findings come as federal, state and local officers are in preparation for a second wave of swine influenza infections. The H1N1 virus appeared in Mexico last spring and quickly spread to the US and other countries.
Although the virus appears no more threatening than the seasonal influenza, more people than usual are anticipated to catch the virus because most people have no protection against it.
A large percentage of the communities had not identified guidelines for adjusting their triage, admissions and care to handle a rush of patients in a crisis. Many cited liability concerns.
All of the communities had conducted exercises in the previous 2 years, but the majority of the exercises concerned around the table discussion only.
Though the enquiry was conducted before the H1N1 virus became widespread and many communities began planning for the second wave, some experts claimed they thought that little had been done to enhance the care administered when patient loads reach crisis levels.
"The capability to deal with a boost in patients is going to be extremely spotty," declared Kim Elliott of the Trust for America's Health, a nonpartisan research and advocacy group. "Depending on the jurisdiction, preparations can range between possibly average to truly bad." The second report, which concentrated on vaccine and antiviral-drug distribution, in a similar way revealed that communities must do more to be in a position to reply adequately to a pandemic.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson Von Roebuck asserted that "CDC agrees that while states, overall, are doing well with antiviral drug distribution and development of vaccination plans, local pandemic readiness can and will be improved”.
The deliveries for the vaccination will be distributed among ninety thousand immunization suppliers, including health departments, surgeries, doctors' offices and drugstores. Federal guidelines call for the H1N1 vaccine to be given first to pregnant women; people who live with or care for children six months or younger ; health-care workers; people six months to twenty-four years of age ; and people with prolonged health issues or compromised immunological defenses.
