Pandemic Awarness
The possibility (however remote) of a global avian flu pandemic is on the radar of ordinary people. Consider these personal experiences:
1) Each Sunday morning, I drag myself out of bed at oh-dark-thirty (5:30 a.m. to be precise). My task is to take my 87-year old father-in-law (who no longer has a drivers license) to early morning coffee with his buddies.
This past Sunday at breakfast, one of grandpa’s elderly buddies said: “What is this bird flu? Where did it come from?”
Another chimed in: “It’s from chickens.”
The first said: “I’ve never heard of bird flu. What is it?”
Another said: “It’s like that Asian flu we had before, but worse.”
I just kept my mouth shut.
2) Today I enjoyed a nice lunch at a charming and authentic Mexican restaurant in Oxnard, CA. The daily special was pozole, and for $7.95 I got all I could eat (one bowl). It was delicious, if you care.
The possibility of a flu pandemic came up over lunch. One friend, a successful businessman, said when a pandemic hits we need to be prepared to totally fend for ourselves for 30 to 90 days. He suggested we should have enough food and other necessities to survive until the pandemic passes.
My other friend, a serious motorcycle nut (I mean aficionado). pretty much agreed. His plan includes having enough gasoline to be able to go somewhere, food, water and guns to protect what he has. We are talking serious (but totally legal) guns.
He jokingly said that if the pandemic strikes, the smart move is to take over a Costco store, declaring it your property, and ushering everybody else out the door with little if any ceremony.
3) A grandson was sick a few weeks ago on school day. He has had a perfect attendance record for years, so this was not a case of him wanting to avoid school. His symptoms were flu like.
He informed his mom that he thought he may have bird flu. He had heard that it had already reached Los Angles, near where he lives. Fortunately he was wrong.
Since awareness is starting to spread, a good question is what should ordinary people do to help make sure their local authorities and health care services have an intelligent and pragmatic plan about what to do if disaster strikes.
Remember Katrina.