I have written a new version of the press release for PFAW for UK which can also be adapted for other countries, eg Europe. The reason is because we are nowhere near ready to talk about 6–8 weeks of preps or anything like that! So the message is a bit more permissive. Feel free to adapt this to whatever works for your locality.
IMPORTANT - Please Help
I still need help finding links to media sources.
This is very time-consuming and that is one thing that I’m desperately short of. Suffice it to say that I went to bed at 8am this morning and had 4 hours of sleep. I’m williing to do this but it would help me greatly if you can identify accurately exactly where the press release submission page is and post it up here. Some of you who have experience doing this can do it faster than I can.
Time spent doing this is time taken away from other items on my To-Do list, such as writing up slides for the National Academies Citizen Engagement presentation, or writing up more virology stuff, or talking to sponsors for research funding.
Please and thank you!
I’ve emailed the press release to a couple of correspondents for whom I have email addresses, but have not started on generic news outlets like newspapers etc.
bump
I sent you a list of media contacts, hope it got there (forgot to put uk bird on them). If you need to assign newspapers/tv contacts to different people perhaps you could put the list up and we’ll select (and post) which ones we intend to contact.
I did forget the tv stations - ITV, SKY, C4, C5 etc.
uk bird,
That went into the junk mailbox so I didn’t see that initially. Thanks!
I have a question, is sending it as via the ‘letter to editor’ email contact the ‘proper’ thing to do? There must be a contact point for press releases vs the regular letters?
Shows how little I know about newspapers!
Atill need:
Newswires - need to find the UK desk for
and whatever else you can think of. Thanks!
There was a good point made by flumonitor – at 06:40
Find a name of a jouranlist first to increase the chances of success - a phone number too if you can, becasue a quick call and a chat will improve the outcomes vastly. This is an aspect of something I do for a living - if we cant, anything is better than nothing and I have use of an automated system (no names though) that can get a release out quickly. Its a bit like throwing mud at the wall and seeing if it will stick though - first route is best. Between us all if we could do a few calls each it may not be too much of a burden - but we would need to have an agreed ‘conversation points’ guide so that the output is clear and consistent.
I have been looking up health editors and health correspondents.
THE SCOTSMAN LYNDSAY MOSS HEALTH CORRESPONDENT. The Daily Telegraph health correspondent Celia Hall · Adrian van Klaveren, Head of News Gathering, BBC · Tim Utton, Science Correspondent, Daily Mail · Jacqui Thornton, Health Correspondent, The Sun · David Shukman, Science Correspondent, BBC News at 10 · Keith Stafford, Training Editor, Reuters · Ben Hirschler, Reuters · Pat Reaney, Medical and Health Correspondent, Reuters · Dr Roger Highfield, Science Correspondent, The Daily Telegraph BY MARK HENDERSON, SCIENCE EDITOR TIMES BY NIGEL HAWKES, HEALTH EDITOR TIMES
Matthew Young and Anthony Browne, the Observer’s health correspondent
James Meikle, health correspondent Friday March 25, 2005 The Guardian Sarah Boseley, health editor Saturday June 17, 2006 The Guardian By Ross Chainey, Health Editor MSN Jo Revill, Observer health editor Health Editor Madeleine Brindley IC wales
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor the independant Dr Keith Hopcroft Health editor mens health magazine By Emma Brady, Health Reporter Birmingham post
Teesside Evening Gazette Health reporter Audrey Forbes By Nick Triggle BBC News health reporter LINDA SUMMERHAYES HEALTH REPORTER ( lsummerhayes@edinburghnews.com)
uk bird, thank you. I think we can send the generic newswire way as well as to individual correspondents. Also, correspondents of health sector magazines such as nursing or doctors would be useful as well.
Check the three emails I sent you I’ve got email details for the independant and a message page for reuters.
DONE list:
independent - done
The express : news.desk at express.co.uk
AP info at ap.org
If the story has national or international significance, e-mail Do not send attachments in e-mail messages. You can also mail your press release to AP’s General/National Desk or International Desk at Associated Press, 450 W. 33rd St., New York, NY 10001. Be sure to include a return address on your envelope. If you have a story of regional significance, send your idea to a local AP bureau. The AP has a bureau in every state. To send press releases to specific departments, consult the list of Beats, AP editors and Writers, and your release will be fowarded to the appropriate party.
could get bloomberg
express - done
still can’t figure out exactly how to send to bbc.
Congratulations Anon_22 - succinct and impactful. I will have a go at getting this out on the automated system tomorrow am, but this should not preclude the other activities, as this could easily get lost in the system. (They frequently do - they get 1000s every day).Can we summarise contact details, volunteers for calls etc and I have an hour to make calls tomorrow am - just dont want to duplicate.
email me at jp at vibrantlife DOT co DOT uk
DONE Associated Press, Press Association
flumonitor,
Can we summarise contact details, volunteers for calls etc and I have an hour to make calls tomorrow am - just dont want to duplicate.
Can you elaborate? Do you mean you are going to call journalists?
I see what you mean. I’m have the same problem with Sky News. The above is more of a comments page for news 24 but it might work.
I also suspect that if you get the name of a health editor or news correspondent and type firstname.lastname at bbc.co.uk you might get lucky.
Was planning to, to alert them t an incoming release. Literally 100s go out every day, and if you can call to say ‘look out for this release’ the chances of it ebing spotted, looked for and paid attention to increase a long way. Sometimes individuals will provide personal e-mail addys so that they go direct rather than just get lost in the mess.
However, one individual needs to be nominated so we dont all chase the same individulas. Given the time factor, we can only probably do a couple each so we need to cherry pick. By doing this now, and calling tomorrow, there is a hlf decent cahnce it may get in over the weekend or the Sunday papers.
My God you lot been busy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anything you need me to do?
Well, I won’t be able to add making calls to what I’m doing, so it would be great if you can do at least some!
But we need to identify the person together with their email addresses and phone nos. That won’t happen until we have found the email addresses and phone nos! Of specific individuals, I mean.
uk bird’s list at 11:54 is very good as a starting point. Anybody who finds the info please email me at anon_22 AT hotmail DOT co DOT uk and/or flumonitor at jp at vibrantlife DOT co DOT uk.
flumonitor, I will email you a Word version with my phone nos that is ready to go to the press. I don’t want to put too many details on the wiki. :-)
Crazy American Lady in the Village – at 13:16 My God you lot been busy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anything you need me to do?
Yes, read my 13:18 post and help find the email addresses and phone nos, etc.
Thanks!
You know what? This feels good! I don’t know if its going to make any difference but we gotta start somewhere!
Agence France-Press (AFP) done
Will do!!!!!!!!!!!!
My God, Anon 22 if you’re feeling good….then we should be optimistic
GET TO WORK GUYS (the wip comes out) ;)
Anon_22, I’m sending you an email with a word document (local press.doc), keep an eye out for it. It’s got loads of email links for local Brit newspapers.
I just got it. Well done! thank you. Now, if I send you, Crazy American (you should change your name, not crazy at all!), and flumonitor my full version press release with my phone nos and stuff, do you think the three of you can split up the list and do 1/3 each? I’m willing to take the calls or contacts if and when they come up.
Just send them out by email or fax. Do however much you feel you can do.
I still have to find a house between now and the 17th….
Divi up.
I’ve sent you the files, and emailed yours to our american friend. Thanks!
Will do - can we e-mail each other re: who takes which ones?
Just as a poet once said: Woah!
Gals moving the world, as usual.
How to Report/Comment on Outbreaks
To submit a posting for any of the ProMED-mail conferences, send it by e-mail to: promed@promedmail.org (NOT to one of the moderators).
NO UNIDENTIFIED POSTS WILL BE ACCEPTED, but identification will be withheld if requested for good reason.
If you have no current affiliation to an institution or company, please write either:
* Health professional
* Non-health professional
* Student or
* Interested lay person
as appropriate.
The country name is needed because some country email domain names are not obvious, and some people are in countries different from their mailing address.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND ATTACHED FILES. Our server is unable to accept attachments.
wondering about adaptation to other European countries, and to Spanish speaking countries all over the world, and to … :-?
anon_22 – at 17:23 I’ve sent you the files, and emailed yours to our american friend. Thanks!
It’s not in my email yet. Could be it was too big and it’s been bounced back? Technology, who’d have it?
Just tell me the range of addresses on the local press.doc you want me to cover and resend me what I need to post to them and I’ll get onto it.
lugon, given your hard work we’ll let you be an honorary gal ;-)
Anyone wants help with “seeding” other languages? “Seeding” is what I call the easy process of creating a fresh page with the text in English + a link to the original + a “translation in process” text, so that after that it’s just a matter of clicking “edit” and work inside the edit box:
uk bird – at 05:08 lugon, given your hard work we’ll let you be an honorary gal ;-)
LOL
lugon uses magic wand to switch gender and back again a few times
anon_22 the files have arrived arrived!
But I still need a range of newspapers to send to. Unless otherwise stated I’ll start at the top of the list and get down to the Liverpool echo.
Do I attach the doc and or copy the text into the email? A lot of places don’t like docs attached because they could be buggy.
I have got as far as the perthshire advertiser on e-mailing the Regionals, if anyone can pick it up from here- this needs to get out today, to hit next weeks regional newspapers as copy will be finalised shortly.
On speaking with several editors for the major groups, one thing has become apparent - there is such limited basic understanding of how a virus that has only infected 250 people odd globally so far can change to become a problem. Additionally you would be surpirsed how many times I have been asked ‘what is the local angle’ so an idea might be to link up with another organisation e. St Johns Ambulance and see if they will do local promtional days for training courses. A regionally based release that there will be such and such an event on x date to give people additional first aid training if there were to be a pandemic flu for example might be a good idea.
I am sure that there are other organisations and angles we could take? Ideas anyone?
Have to leave for a meeting now so hopefully someone else can take forward the batton?
Try including the text, but I don’t know if footnotes would work. Footnotes could be “textified” using brackets as in [1]. I can do that for you on a separate pressreleaseuk-txt page if you like.
uk bird - copy and paste the text inot the e-mail message body with a message title PRESS RELEASE: PANDEMIC FLU AWARENESS WEEK 9 - 15 OCTOBER 2006. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Automated send out has happened but these are not anywhere as near as accurate as doing things this way.
In haste
lugon - at 06:39 was intended for bird uk - at 05:53
ruminating about “local angle” and lack of mindpower - argh!
I’m taking it up from perthshire then
Done.
Just checking, flumonitor, did you start at the top or from the Liverpool echo? don’t want to repeat email.
(thanks to a Knight Who Says Ni)
“Do you have a news story for Birmingham or the Black Country? If so, BBC News Online’s West Midlands team would like to hear from you.
The team, which provides the latest news in the area seven days a week, consists of Nicola McGann, Andrew Dawkins, Sarah Portlock, Zoe Gough, Arryn Moy and Caroline Gall.”
“To improve the quality and range of issues we cover, we need your help.
If you have any comments about our coverage or a story suggestion, please send an e-mail to:”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3037864.stm
“If you want to contact our TV colleagues then please e-mail them directly: midlands.today@bbc.co.uk “
sending info to local TVs? wow!
I’m starting on thinktanks.
OK, my homework is done, press release sent to all of the local press.
Let’s cross our fingers that this works. Let me know if there is anything else, in the mean time, I’m off to celebrate pandemic week, in true English style at my local Tapas bar!
Emailed press release to ResonanceFM community radio, London.
Sorry UK bird - just got back in -started at the top and worked down - but dont worry if there was duplication - just gives a greater chance of the message getting through.
Has anyone sent to the BBC? Could we perhaps collate who has BEEN done, so we can cross reference against the info sources, just to check that they have all been done?
Well done everyone - now we sit back and wait, but I might try and dream up another angle that gives us the excuse to follow up next week.
In marketing we always say that it takes 6 points of contact before an action results - so we need to keep up the pressure, and not be disheartened if the results are not as great, this first time around, as we might hope they will be - On the other hand we could just be pleasangly surprised! Fingers crossed, but doesn’t it feel good to actually be DOING something positive, and trying to work around the official blocks!
anon_22 – at 12:29 - “I’m starting on thinktanks.” Where? How? Who?
flumonitor: we’ll have to tell each of them that the others are writing about it - if or when they actually do!
Just read the Pandemic Awareness Week page - might we be able to refine it for UK audience before next week? Happy to edit and make suggestions - the weekend is here, and for once I have time on my hands so can do something - well a little bit!
you can put up the ‘sent’ list here
flumonitor – at 14:06 Just read the Pandemic Awareness Week page - might we be able to refine it for UK audience before next week? Happy to edit and make suggestions - the weekend is here, and for once I have time on my hands so can do something - well a little bit!
Yes, I was thinking of that. It’s best to make sure that the content is appropriate for people from different countries, eg not be too dogmatic about preps etc.
good - but would you / we create another copy? or “extend” it?
actually i like anon_22′s press release a lot - maybe some things could be back-ported to the general press-release - not sure about consistency etc :-?
lugon – at 13:46 anon_22 – at 12:29 - “I’m starting on thinktanks.” Where? How? Who?
Well, I have specific people whom I know, and I won’t put them up here. But generally, NGO’s like the Red Cross, Save the Children, Oxfam, Bernardos, as well as any institution that comments on policy.
i’d like to insist on translations - this thread may not be the place to do it :)
but it may be good to widen our focus if we can - without loosing steam
anon_22 - ah, ok - will think about my own networks - everybody has one! :)
lugon ¨C at 14:14
actually i like anon_22¡äs press release a lot - maybe some things could be back-ported to the general press-release - not sure about consistency etc :-?
I think it’s better to be consistent for general circulation, less important if it is sent out in a targeted way to individuals.
flumonitor & lugon,
I haven’t read the PFAW page in great detail, but it may be necessary to write a separate ‘pre-amble’ and specifically comment on the fact that since the US government has advocated personal preparation for close to a year now, non-US visitors may need some extra FAQ’s to address the issue. Or something that would make them comfortable when they navigate around the site and find so much US-oriented or SIP content. It would require a lot of imagination, I suspect to put that together!
Will draft my ideas tomorrow and e-mail if that is OK. Anon_22 - did you get my e-mails? Just wasn’t sure - so if I am on block look for contact around 2.pm tomorrow. Am off for some light hearted revelry for the evening, so will come back to it later….
i’ll try and provide some of my imagination - if i don’t have enough then i’ll dream it up! :)
lugon produces localization-team ™ hats for everyone in the room
i’d favour extend, not fork
extend = add more Q&As or rephrase some
fork = create something different and, in a way, incompatible
the above comment is about the FAQ
Lugon - before sign off. The press releases are linked to the PFAW page, so this is where they will look, so a preamble for non US citizens will be needed or a link to a seperate page.
We could however provide a UK/ EU FAQ that simply modifies what is there - and dovetails into the rest of the links to minimise work. The take out messages are, ultimatley the same..
ok - an intermediate “preamble” page then - perhaps with some copy-and-paste
a fork, then - it’s easy to backport in any case
Have we had any feedback yet???????????????
just suggested translation into German at Forum.FindingOtherPreppersDeutschland2
it might work better if the media themselves are the news - referencing each other sort of ;)
I’ve been working on a letter to stimulate concern about bird flu. It’s not finalised yet but what do you think?:-
Why Bird Flu has me worried.
I am a cynical person. I’m hard to panic. I don’t believe in fairies, aliens, god, ghosts or conspiracy theories. I do believe in science, technology and facts. Most significantly I believe in risk assessment.
Too few people understand risk assessment. They worry about their haunted spare room instead of their maxed out credit cards. They worry their government is hiding proof of alien spacecraft while they ignore billions wasted on well publicised schemes. They ignore the very probable disasters that are likely to befall them in favour of silly, nebulous even imaginary problems.
Some might say that a Bird Flu pandemic is a fictional problem, put about by governments to draw attention away from what they’re really up to. I’d say, that governments are so nervous of a bird flu pandemic they’re trying to pretend it won’t happen. Governments are human too, they don’t like to face up to problems that seem to big to cope with.
So what’s the risk of a pandemic?
At this point, I run the risk of being vague or long winded. Well I didn’t say risk assessment was easy, but put in it’s simplest terms:-
Likelihood = low to medium (1) Population affected = medium to high (2) Potential for harm = medium to catastrophic (3)
Risk (4) = likelihood*population*harm = very scary.
1 Likelihood
Might never happen, might be a mild pandemic, might not catch it myself.
But, pandemics of varying harm and varying levels of infection DO happen. Roughly every xx years and the last one was in 1967. We’re due.
On the plus side, we’re better at spotting these things and we’re better at treating them. A pandemic might be stopped in it’s tracks at the place it springs from. Yeah, it might be stopped, assuming politicians, money, manpower and medicine are on the ball. My fingers are crossed, how about yours?
2 Population Affected
This is one of the unknown variables. How infectious will the pandemic be? The pandemic everyone is talking about is the 1918 Spanish flu. It infected a quarter of the world’s population. It managed that before air travel. It managed that when the world didn’t interact as it does now. How long would it take to get to your door from where it starts? The current estimates are that a pandemic bug would be round the world in two weeks. What would you do if you had two weeks to prepare?
The flu also mutates. Each time it mutates sufficiently you can catch it again. Viruses spread in waves. A pandemic wave would be up to 12 weeks long and the next one could be on it’s way before the first is over.
At the moment Bird Flu doesn’t transmit very well. Most of the people who have caught it have done so from birds, but some of the infections were from people. This might change, viruses mutate, it’s their mission in life to infect as many creatures as possible and they’re diligent little critters.
H5N1 is unusual. Normally viruses tend to infect only a small number of species but this bird flu has already shown itself capable of infecting multiple creatures from tigers to toddlers.
3 Potential for harm
We’ve nearly all had flu. Not that heavy cold, the flu. The one that sent you to bed for two weeks and you didn’t recover properly for months. People die from flu. Every year thousand die around the world from known strains. There are vaccines for most of them. People still die.
At the moment the UN estimates that a pandemic virus will kill 2.5% of the people it infects and it might infect a quarter of the world’s population.
The Bird Flu virus currently kills between 50% and 75% of the people it infects. It’s nasty. It doesn’t work in quite the same way most flu viruses do. It causes the body to attack itself and the result isn’t pretty.
It’s assumed that the current death rate is so high because many minor cases of H5N1 are going unreported. People get sick and get better without help. There is little evidence for this supposition.
But of course the fatality rate would drop if and when it became transmissible between humans… won’t it? Not necessarily. And if it does drop, how far would it go? It’s a long way between 2.5% and 50%. What would be going through your head if the fatality rate was 25%? What if 1 in 8 people were dropping dead?
But then there’s Tamiflu and a vaccine to protect us. Well, yes, but a vaccine could take at least six months to be developed and mass produced and that’s after it turns into a form that is transmittable. How many times will the flu mutate, requiring a different vaccine before the world is safe? Now Tamiflu does work (for now), but it is only useful if taken early on after infection and there isn’t enough for everyone.
4 Risk
So… a pandemic is likely but it probably won’t kill me… or it’s not likely but it might well kill me…mmm. That says sky high risk in my book and that’s why I’m worried.
I’m not asking you to run out and buy 12 months of food, I’m not asking you to stock masks or Tamiflu, I’m just asking you to do your own risk assessment. I’ll leave your response to those deliberations up to you.
And bear in mind one last thing – Governments around the world are saying ‘you’ll be on your own’. Health services will not be able to cope, either with the number of patients or with the number of their own staff that are sick. And that’s with a fatality rate of just 2.5%.
UK bird - well done.
I have been thinking (in my sleep) about how we achieve the six points of contact - even to just change editors opinions and thought that - if we had the time - we could send a release a day covering different aspects. This needs a little tightening up but is a good approach and could work well uner ‘Personal perspecitve - why am I worried about pandmeic flu’ or something like that. We could do a local businesses perspective (local angle) and wat impacts a pandemic may have at community leve - try and paint some pictures etc. Even if it doesn’t get printed we could change media opinion so that they start folowing events more closely.
We have all the e-mails extracted (in the sent files!) so that bit could be quite quick. Question is, collectively, how much time could we all give over the course of the next week?
Just an idea - and a lot of work, I dont want to underestimate that. Even if it was just a series of three in total, it keeps the message getting hit to the media. They may then start to take more notice.
Thoughts?
Wish I knew how to go back and correct my typos! Sorry - brain thinks faster than fingers will work.
My typing’s so rubbish I’ve stopped worrying about it :-)
We’ve left it a bit late to imitate a real awareness week but if we think of it as a media awareness week we might be more successful.
We might surprise ourselves. I think that if we think of it in terms of the following staged objectives
1, raise media awareness of the issues 2. educate media about the issues and their causes 3. increase receptiveness to future announcements and their impacts 4. increase media general coverage of bird flu 5. Increase awareness of the public about pandemic and pandmeic risks 6. Increase buisness continuity planning at SME level 7. Motivate the public to take steps to increase thier families resilience 8. Encourage public debate over delicate issues such as medicines rationing, prioritisation for treatment decisions and other thorny ones that will need public opinion / understanding on their side
There is no way all of this will happen in the space of a week - but if we start the process, we have something to build on - and who knows how far down the list we will get!
We’re not the first contact in any case, are we?
Ok, maybe the first to say, in Europe, “hey, get some extra food and things, will you?”.
Let’s do what we can. Imitating our best enemy.
bump
bump - any news from the press?
Back - emergency call away over the weekend, which scuppered plans so apologoies.
Some additional BF coverage though which could have been promted by our actions - you never know - although I find it risable that they are planning at staff absenteeism rates of 15%, when every other set of guidance assumptions I have seen plans for 30 - 35%.
Will keep looking to see if there is anything else to find, apart form the two US articles. This article would have come out on Friday, 9th so could be a response to enquiries - its timing is interesting at least!
Flu pandemic exercise takes shape Financial Times - Published: October 7 2006 03:00 | Last updated: October 7 2006 03:00
By Andrew Jack in London and Andrew Hill in Paris A “real time” simulation exercise is being drawn up by the government that will pull in all parts of the public sector to test the country’s readiness for a flu pandemic.
Exercise “Winter Willow” will take place over at least three weeks from late January and involve officials from cabinet level down to individual health trusts, the police and education authorities across the UK.
There is growing concern over the likely emergence of a lethal new flu strain, which could result in as many as 1m deaths and 26m hospitalisations in England and Wales alone.
The exercise is the most ambitious yet in a series of simulations run in recent months as the UK and other countries begin preparing for the risk of a pandemic triggered by the current H5N1 bird flu strain, which has to date infected 252 people worldwide and killed 148.
Government guide-lines warn that companies and other employers should plan for absenteeism at the peak of the pandemic averaging 15 per cent of their staff, rising to twice that number for small crews of workers.
Policymakers hope to minimise the economic disruption of the pandemic and have dismissed calls to make preparations to close borders and stop transport. They are likely to recommend school closures to help reduce infection, however.
Whereas previous simulations have typically lasted only one or two days and involved a small number of high-level officials or emergency staff in a single region, Winter Willow is designed to test how the entire public sector would react throughout the duration of a pandemic “wave”.
Strategic corporate sectors, such as energy and banking, will also participate and the scenarios tested in the exercise will then be made available to othercompanies so they can run them to test their own preparedness.
Speaking at a business seminar in Paris yesterday, David Nabarro, the United Nations’ influenza co-ordinator, said that companies internationally had made important strides to prepare for a pandemic in recent months. He stressed though that they now needed to launch joint simulation exercises with the public sector, voluntary organisations and the media.
He said: “In my experience, the corporate sector has recognised that this is a serious risk and is therefore investing time, energy and some funding in preparing for business continuity, in preparing for a pandemic, and in considering how it can contribute to collective security in the event a pandemic occurs.”
Winter Willow will test draft changes to the department of health’s current pandemic preparation plan and should lead to a revised version being issued next spring.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
Interesting article on the inadequcies of EU planning and international co-ordination. People are beginning to speak up in the right places which is good.
bump
Flu thret to UK nurses - Sunday Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8122-2394723,00.html
Nurses. Focused on individual care. In large numbers. Willing to take on “simple effective care” (as in Woodson’s book), and able to talk about practicalities with patients and families^1^. Mostly women.
^1^: Not like the tiny percent of demi-god-like surgeons on the other end of the spectrum. Sorry about thick-brush painting here. This is really tongue-in-cheek. Really. :-)
From a UK planning perspective it is worth noting that the RCN believes that a 40% absence rate of nurses should be planned for: 20% due to personal illness, and 20% for individuals taking time out to care for children/ family, especially if facing school closures. The ony way to mitigate this would be widespread use of a prophylactic or preventative agent - ie Tamiflu prophylactically for the duration, with stocks avaialble for families and vaccines (once available/ ready), not just for the HCW but also for their families, just to make sure that they are able to turn up for work and provide the care that is needed and do not need to remain at home to care for other sick family members.
I do not know if this has been factored into plans or not, as have not seen the plans for this aspect.
bump
I wonder if I would take Tamiflu for 6 weeks. Maybe anon_22 has read or thought something about this.
There won’t be enough, for a crisis that will last a year or two.
Imagine there’s enough for 3 waves of 6 weeks each. In that situation, would many people take such a medication for 6 weeks? Maybe, if the pandemic virus is deadly enough.
Statins are safe, but I wonder if they would be needed at very high doses or what.
At the current price of about US$75.00 per course, 6 weeks would cost a somewhat prohibitive price of US$615.00, for 8.2 courses (42 days), times three waves = $1845 smackaroos!
Those with access to Tamiflu, and the ability to get it and pay for it, more than likely would. What else could they do? OTOH, those with little money (me, for example), will have to rely on the single course that I may or may not currently have in my medicine cabinet.
Where’s my RWFK?!?
No mention of awareness week, but I suspect that the press release is achieving the goal of getting local editors to ask questions re: preparedness.
Bedford News: Pandemic Flu: Its Not If, But When
bump
Similar article in Biggleswade http://tinyurl.com/nwd7k
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