Barring a miraculous reconfiguring of human nature, a very large percentage of the population will be unprepared when a pandemic occurs. In order to further the continuance of society and not waste precious resources any extra supplies that the prepared have should go to the workers and their families who will keep the system going.
“No Man is an Island” nor should he be a fool and cast his stores “an inch deep and a mile wide” and put himself and everybodyelse in the same condition of dire need a couple of weeks down the line.
If I am going to risk myself and my family, it will be for the continuance of order, our infrastructure, and our economy. Look at Nature, you will see that our fellow species are hard-wired to make these Darwinian choices.
The nonvital workers that are unprepared will have their best and only chance in the long run, if this triage is adopted by all of us who have prepared. The nonvital workers will just have to scrape by as best they can.
Feeling good and morally superior by broadcasting your spare goods to any and all is an empty and ultimately fruitless exercise. Be ruthless in saving our society or no one will be saved.
Maven, it’s an excellent idea.
In most neighborhoods there will be a cop, a firefighter, a medic, a nurse, or someone else essential who will have two loyalties. Their families, and their duty.
Those of us who are prepared should seriously consider adopting their families while they work on the front lines. Many of these are single parent homes. In some, both parents have similar duties. In any case, essential workers are more likely to report for work if they know their neighbors are looking after their families.
Doesn’t mean you have to take them into your own home (although there are cases where it might make sense). Offering child care, cooked meals, or simply agreeing to check in every day with their families would go a long way towards reassuring these front line troops that their families are being protected.
Psychological support for the families will be very important. Imagine sending your wife, or your husband, out into a pandemic, and not knowing if, or when they can return.
The people who will go out and face this threat deserve all the support we can give them.
And Maven is right, you life may very well depend on it.
My son-in-law is a cop, and his department’s plans? Keep all the officers together (bad idea- think of the risks of cross-infection and total loss of your police dept) and all the families are supposed to be kept together in one large place- an even worse idea!
So he knows my daughter and kids are going to self-isolate at my house. My husband is armed and experienced. Those in the family who go out into the world during a wave with stay at my daughter/sil’s home, and do personal spacing to protect each other. Each home is well prepared.
But prepping for another vital worker is a great idea, and I’ll incorporate into my planning and teachings.
And I agree with MM’s post at the top of the thread. It sounds horrible, but how much longer can society carry all the dead weight who refuse to do anything at all to contribute, even when they are able to, just choose not to?
While we’re at it, it might make sense to warn them beforehand, and adopt them … as prepper-interns (meaning they are learning to prep).
This has taken us (not me, I mean the collective “us”) months to develop. I wonder what other ideas we’ll produce that will surprise ourselves. This has certainly made my day!
While we’re at it, it might make sense to warn them beforehand, and adopt them … as prepper-interns (meaning they are learning to prep).
This has taken us (not me, I mean the collective “us”) months to develop. I wonder what other ideas we’ll produce that will surprise ourselves. This has certainly made my day!
Thanks Grace RN and Fla_Medic:
Now is the time to identify which Vital Worker’s family that you are going to “adopt”. Hopefully you can identify some family nearby so that you don’t stretch your supply lines and expose yourself anymore than is necessary. (Also, have some other candidates in mind in case your first pick does not make it).
If “the system” can withstand the shock of the first wave, we can then muster the society-wide “war footing” during the interwave period. But if the infrastructure fails with the first shock, we won’t be able to do that. This is our chance.
I am planning to double my planned supplies to implement this strategy. It will be the best “investment” that I ever made.
Medical Maven – at 12:29
A wonderful idea! Health care workers, cops, undertakers (they’d be needed), etc… should know they have their family covered. there’s no way they can function otherwise.
Someday soon, we may have to make a choice. My spouse has a non-vital job, while I do have. I will go- no matter what I have to do, no matter the risk. I think a lot of doctors will make the same choice.
We will rely on the retired and other volunteers to get us through. No one should leave minor children! Period.
As long as there is someone to look after the kids, anyone who doesn’t report is a COWARD as far as I’m concerned. This is what we’re trained to do, and this is what we should be prepared to do. We don’t earn these big salaries just for being smart.
We’ve been taught since college that this could happen and we should be ready. And anyone who doesn’t respond should be striped of their license.
For single parent Mom’s (yes i was one of those at one time,) think about leaving your kids with your parents and if that is not an option, you need to stay home.)
I agree. I have to report to the emergency room where I practice. I have to rely on my church, my neighbors, family, anyone willing to help. So many of my collegues are torn. I don’t feel the same way. I think of all those who have died in service to others: soldiers, doctors, nurses, policement, firemen — to abandon my duty would, indeed, be cowardly. That being said, I would be mighty angry if no one attended to my family!
If pandemic is very disasterous, I would not think medical workers cowards for not losing their lives sitting at ARDS bedsides with no equipment and no meds, and no PPE. I would not send firefighters into burning warehouses with only buckets and boots. Is there any provision to do other, non-pandemic medical care? (housecalls with bodygards? Homebirths and minor surgery, set broken bones, hospitals for vital workers who have heart attacks or strokes or road accidents, phone medical advice lines, anything?)
The populace has to see there are too many of them; they outnumber those trying to save them, they have to learn to be proactive and try and keep themselves from getting infected or learn how to nurse themselves at home, not expect to ship their dying out to holding areas if there is no hope of treatment left after supplies run out. I do not see the political will right now to get hospitals prepared, and, they’d have less ill to worry about if they had started first with educating the public. Half the communication effort and time as a campaign run up to an election gets would have done nicely. Still could be tried.
(Why did that police station think they should all quarantine together for months??) Is there still time to get various sectors onto better headings? Adopt vital workers/sectors now, by being free consultants? Are there enough of us to do much good with one worker/family? I’d rather get sectors/departments planned for pandemic better.
School groups and church groups have “adopted” military before; can they be brought to do that for preparing themselves and the people they will rely on, if pandemic occurs? List the sectors, and have groups pick who they’d like to make sure are prepared? (Wouldn’t that be an interesting “Town Meeting” topic?)
Vital Worker List (Please add or delete and give reasons)
(Not necessarily in this order)
1. Healthcare workers 2. Policemen 3. Firemen 4. Transportation workers (truckers, airline pilots, train personnel, bus drivers, etc.) 5. Utility workers (linemen, powerplant workers, water, sewage, nuclear, computer (the net), “the grid”, etc.) 6. Mineral extraction (coal miners, oilfield workers, refinery workers) 7. Mill workers (cleaning and processing grains) 8. Slaughterhouse workers (pork, beef, chicken) 9. National Guard members 10. Farmers and Ranchers 11. Fisherman and cannery workers 12. Local broadcasting media and their support workers
Well, those are my top twelve. I left out vegetable and fruit production because for immediate needs during the first wave people could get by with grains and meat. We just need the bare essentials, and we need to focus on those groups that can give us the most “bang for our buck”. We want to get to the interwave period with things roughly intact, then we could finetune, if possible.
Medical Maven
Good idea. I don’t know any key workers but I have been thinking of getting extra stuff for three elderly women that live alone nearby.
Dairy operators and cheesemakers.
Also, how do we help them best?
This are just broad, thick brush, general areas. We might look for more such areas and then get into the details and practicalities. Or keep an eye on both levels of abstraction (general concepts, specific ideas).
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