Last day of US Gov’t pandemic flu blog

Today’s the last day of posting on the PandemicFlu.gov blog.

HHS’s stated goal on pandemic preparedness: “to help as many Americans as possible to understand that the threat of a pandemic influenza is real and to actively engage in personal preparedness.”

Well, have they achieved it? I’m pretty sure the people who’ve figured out that much at this point have done it on their own. But the blog did provide a brief opportunity for lots of people to express their desire for HHS to be a little more proactive in providing useful information through the means by which most people get their news, rather than just this series of tubes.

Bottom line: will an influenza pandemic happen? Yes, they’ve happened many times before and will again. Do we know which flu, or when? No, but a broad range of health professionals and policy makers are concerned that H5N1 is a strong candidate for creating disastrous global consequences if it turns out to be the one; it’s also a strong candidate for being the one, as it is spreading and mutating rapidly. Will the government and the health care system ensure your safety in the next flu pandemic? Unless the next pandemic happens after we’ve discovered a universal flu vaccine, probably not for the first few months at least. So why not do a little preparation, as the government is so quietly telling us to do? The fact is, you’re pretty much on your own if H5N1 “goes human” soon, and any preparation at all would also come in handy for all kinds of unforeseen, short term emergencies. It just makes sense.

For all of my posts on H5N1 click here.