U.S. Plan For Flu Pandemic Revealed

Lets hit the highlights…..

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The Treasury Department is poised to sign agreements with other nations to produce currency if U.S. mints cannot operate. The Pentagon, anticipating difficulties acquiring supplies from the Far East, is considering stockpiling millions of latex gloves. And the Department of Veterans Affairs has developed a drive-through medical exam to quickly assess patients who suspect they have been infected.
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To keep the 1.8 million federal workers healthy and productive through a pandemic, the Bush administration would tap into its secure stash of medications, cancel large gatherings, encourage schools to close and shift air traffic controllers to the busier hubs — probably where flu had not yet struck. Retired federal employees would be summoned back to work, and National Guard troops could be dispatched to cities facing possible “insurrection,” said Jeffrey W. Runge, chief medical officer at the Department of Homeland Security.

The administration hopes to help contain the first cases overseas by rushing in medical teams and supplies. “If there is a small outbreak in a country, it may behoove us to introduce travel restrictions,” Runge said, “to help stamp out that spark.”
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Operating the largest health-care organization in the nation, the VA has directed its 153 hospitals to stock up on other medications, equipment, food and water, said chief public health officer Lawrence Deyton. “But it’s a few days’ worth, not enough to last months,” he added.

Anticipating that some nurses may be home caring for family members — and to reduce the number of patients descending on its hospitals — the VA intends to put nurses on its toll-free hotline to help veterans decide whether they need professional medical care. At many VA hospitals, nurses and doctors would stand in the parking lots armed with thermometers and laptop computers to do drive-through exams. Modeled after its successful drive-through vaccination program last fall, the parking-lot triage is intended to keep the flow of patients moving rapidly, Deyton said.

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“Any community that fails to prepare — with the expectation that the federal government can come to the rescue — will be tragically wrong,” HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said in a speech April 10. The administration is posting information on the Internet at http://www.pandemicflu.gov/ .

Ignoring the logistical element of what will basically amount to infrastructure failure (what with normal commerce disrupted and all) the economic hitw ould be enormous. With people not going to work, how are those mortgage payments being met? Bank holidays and moratoriums from federal edict?