When pandemic flu hits, are you in luck? - November 07, 2007
The US government is still fretting about what to do when the next influenza pandemic hits - especially how state and local governments might divvy out limited vaccine stocks. Just to help, officials have now released a color-coded priority list as to who gets it and who doesn't. As with any limited resource, there will be winners and losers – at least until vaccine production ramps up and everyone gets a dose.
The highest priority – code red – will go to an estimated 23 million doctors, cops, politicians and others. Pregnant women and babies would also get first dibs on a vaccine, too. Soldier, spies, utility workers and sick children round out code orange, while yellow and green include farmers, postmen, healthy children, and the elderly. The lowest rung – code blue – will be occupied by the remaining 122 million other Americans.
The plan is open for public comment until Dec. 31. So let them know now if you've got a problem with your color.
Comments
Anyone can order their own tamiflu dosages. We did. 9 dosages I think, hiding in a cool, dry cabinet.
Being in that 'blue' category, I would rather spend the money for ease of mind, than go into a panic every time some new outbreak pops up in the news.
Please correct me if I'm wrong: If it is possible that a human-contagious strain may appear from bird-human-swine mixing, and the 'sampling' continues to increase, and the population densities continue to increase, and the rate of vector 'communications' between populations increases, then we really are talking about a 'when' and not 'if'.
'When' should be reasonably easy to calculate, if you can guess the number of samplings needed to hit upon the human-contagious strain. Has this been done?
Posted by: Matt | November 29, 2007 09:19 PM