NYT: Bush Plan Shows U.S. Is Not Ready for Deadly Flu

[highplainsdem]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/08/politics/08flu.html?hp&ex=1128830400&en=2d36703f52765687&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Bush Plan Shows U.S. Is Not Ready for Deadly Flu
By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: October 8, 2005

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 - A plan developed by the Bush administration to deal with any possible outbreak of pandemic flu shows that the United States is woefully unprepared for what could become the worst disaster in the nation's history.

<snip>

The 381-page plan calls for quarantine and travel restrictions but concedes that such measures "are unlikely to delay introduction of pandemic disease into the U.S. by more than a month or two."

The plan's 10 supplements suggest specific ways that local and state governments should prepare now for an eventual pandemic by, for instance, drafting legal documents that would justify quarantines. Written by health officials, the plan does yet address responses by the military or other governmental departments.

The plan outlines a worst-case scenario in which more than 1.9 million Americans would die and 8.5 million would be hospitalized with costs exceeding $450 billion.

<snip>

[niyad]

1. call me cynical, but hmmmmmmmmm

[Born Free]

13. bush team is well prepared...

The bush teams wealthy base has nothing to worry about, they will have everything they to need to make sure their lives remain pleasant.

[Carolab]

2. OMG. Time to buy some antidotes from Canada.

On-line.

[xray s]

4. a better plan

time to move to Canada.

[kestrel91316]

3. Bush administration "unprepared"?? I'm shocked, especially

with the guy in charge of emergency pandemic preparedness (and who replaced an insider/expert with public health/epidemiology credentials) being an ATTORNEY and political crony. He wouldn't know a deadly virus if it bit him in the ass - which it very well might.

Brownie, Jr will be in charge. Millions will die.

[Demeter]

18. One Has To Wonder--Which Part of the Military Takeover Isn't Ready?

Sounds to me like pandemic is part of the plan--like Bush was counting on it.

[NuttyFluffers]

5. well thank god he's thinking about martial law to cure this...

because we all know a bullet can fix everything. :sarcasm:

[Pachamama]

6. I guess that "bullets" can put us down like horses out of our misery

...who thought that plan up? Michael "Brownie" Brown, former FEMA Head and ex-horse show guy?

Seriously.....Bush's way of handling a pandemic is to use the military to quarantine people?

[Jawja]

15. Who thought it up?

Skeletor, our Homeland Security chief. Michael Chertoff.

[ninkasi]

19. And with the military in charge...

and with idiot boy being prepared to veto a bill which outlaws torture, this doesn't bode well for the rest of us. I can well imagine justifying torture of American citizens by this administration, especially if the citizens are liberal, progressive, or disagree in any way with Herr Bushler.

I can see him justifying it just because he enjoys inflicting pain, and he's a mean, spiteful little thing. An epidemic, and the ensuing chaos, would allow him to cover up any number of things.

[Obamarama]

7. Two words that should never be used in same sentence: Bush and Plan

eot

[cassiepriam]

8. Unless BAD precedes the world PLAN. nt

[rodeodance]

9. Public Health -as part of infrastructure-has been neglected for years.

[Lisa]

23. excellent point, rodeodance

There was an article in Canada's Globe and Mail, a few days back, pointing out that the public health system (with strong preventative programmes) is the first line of defense ... even before they break out the vaccines and start injecting people. And that charging around with guns (e.g. Bush and his military quarantine) is not only too little, too late ... but entirely the wrong way to go about things.

[rodeodance]

10. I hate it when the WH/Fed plays with our health.

......The plan details the responsibilities of top health officials in each phase of a spreading pandemic, starting with planning and surveillance efforts and ending with coordination with the Department of Defense.

Much of the plan is a dry recitation of the science and basic bureaucratic steps that must be followed as a virus races around the globe. But the plan has the feel of a television movie-of-the-week when it describes a possible pandemic situation that begins, "In April of the current year, an outbreak of severe respiratory illness is identified in a small village."

[bklyncowgirl]

11. This part stood out. Bush "cajoling" vaccine producing companies

"On Friday, President Bush invited the leaders of the nation's top six vaccine producers to the White House to cajole them into increasing their domestic vaccine capacity, and the flu plan demonstrates just how monumental a task these companies have before them."

He CAJOLED them!

Cajoling sounds like--"As c'mon guys"

After the screw up last year where we had to go begging for vaccine from Canada and other places around the world he's just getting around in OCTOBER to saying "Pretty Please may we have more vaccine, Sir."

How about last spring telling them that if they did not increase production the FDA and the CDC or whoever regulates them would be all over their asses examining their belly button lint.

This sounds like another example of the misadministration being unwilling to put the public good ahead of corporate profit.

[HuffleClaw]

12. in truth

there isn't much to BE done to stave off a pandemic, short of sealing off yer borders completely, and thats just not practical. the important thing is to prepare the 'first responders', and EDUCATE the public, instead of making them afraid, which is what this administration has been doing.

[screembloodymurder]

14. There's no excuse!

The President has been reading and thinking about this for months. His administration was late to purchase vaccines last year and Americans went without. Other countries purchased Tamiflu in advance in anticipation of this year's shortages. Bush's inaction is no accident.

The US can't meet it's obligations and fund global hegemony. Bush wants to kill off seniors on SS.

[Deja Q]

16. Well duh.

[survivor999]

17. What REALLy worries me is the following:

These types of pandemic flu hit big cities the most. The one in 1918, for instance, hit NYC and Boston the hardest. I suppose it's due to population density. In any case, the big cities are the Blue engines in the US. If you wipe out San Francisco, NYC, Boston, Seattle, etc... you'll have wiped out a big chunk of the blue vote.
Now, I have NO doubt in my mind that somebody in the administration is thinking about this, as we speak. All they need to do is... Nothing...
Given the fascist core of this administration, and their disregard for this country, exterminating the "adversary", physically, would seem pretty in tune with their values. Blue cities and states should try really hard to be as independent as they can from this administration when it comes to pretecting themselves.

[Catchawave]

20. These kind of headlines aren't going to help his

poll numbers! Geesh, sounds more like culling the Blue States with the biggest cities, including DC !

OR, it's another diversion from WhiteHousegate and the impending indictments ?

[williesgirl]

21. Surprise, surprise. They're never prepared for anything. n/t

[rocktivity]

22. So we don't have to worry about smallpox or anthrax anymore?

Remember when they were the "in" biological terror threats? Are "pandemics" the new "duct tape and plastic wrap?"

:headbang:
rocknation