If Americans can think up a "we go to eleven" method that works against plagues of locusts, we should be able to come up with a defense against a measly bunch of sub-microscopic swine flu agents, shouldn't we? I mean, how hard can it be?"Unnecessary preparation beats being caught unprepared by a flu pandemic." [Hilzoy]
But seriously, folks, we all know that a stitch in time saves nine, fortune is infatuated with the efficient, etc., so unless you've already stocked up in preparation for Armageddon or the Give All The White People's Guns To The Black People Program, this is a great time to stockpile everything from Acetaminophen to Pedialyte®. Water, check... manual can opener, check... And don't forget the dogfood!
From dKos via Obsidian Wings, here is an excellent [pdf] Pandemic Influenza Preparation and Response Guide. Check out the Appendix:
A. World Health Organization and Pandemic Phases - 48
B. World Health Organization Advice for Travelers - 49
C. Items to Stockpile for an Influenza Pandemic - 50
D. Items for Treatment of Severe Influenza - 51
E. Homemade Oral Rehydration Solution - 52
F. Possible Roles for Community Volunteers - 53
G. Example: Home Patient Medical Record - 54
H. Overview of Influenza Surveillance in the United States - 55
I. A Doctor’s Letter during the Height of the 1918 Pandemic - 57
It's as thorough and sobering as I suppose a guide for citizens in a pandemic ought to be, and I am totally printing it all out for when the Intertubes go down. Off to the fallout shelter —
[Drawing by Marc Johns via Flickr.]
2 comments:
If only heavy metal music could repel swine flu viruses as well as it does Mormon crickets...
(off now to stock up on booze and electrolytes)
Fort Worth, TX has closed all public schools and cancelled/postponed UIL athletic and academic competitions: http://tinyurl.com/dhe3ow
This is my town - I don't know whether to be reassured or scared. A little of both, I think.
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