U.S. Tells Citizens to Stockpile, But Refuses To Say For How Long
It makes absolutely no sense. Their position will result in more deaths.
The U.S. government has told its citizens via its web site, http://www.pandemicflu.gov and through 44 visits by Health and Human Secretary Michael Leavitt throughout the country, to prepare for a possible pandemic.
But the federal government refuses to say how many provisions a citizen should stockpile. They refuse to say whether preparing to live isolated for three days, three weeks, three months, or six months is a reasonable amount of time in the event of a pandemic.
It is obvious to me that such isolation would help you to avoid infection and would help you avoid starvation when illness affects the food distribution channels, leaving nothing on grocery shelves.
I called the HHS department in Washington, DC, yesterday (April 27, 2006) and left a message with my question about why the government was not making a recommendation. A department secretary returned my call and asked not to be quoted by name.
The secretary said the federal government relies on solid data before they make recommendations, and they do not have the data to make a recommendation on length of time for which you should prepare. She said they did not know when they would have the data or when they would ever make such a recommendation.
She said the government wants to be sure there is "continuity." She said that if they can encourage workers to continue to provide goods and services, then people won't have to stockpile as much. Plus, she said, it isn't fair to poor people to ask them to prepare for six months when there is no way that they could ever do that. "We need to think about ALL Americans," she said.
She also said that the pandemic could be hitting 5,000 different places at different times all over the United States, so you can't say that you need to be isolated for a certain time at a certain place.
My Opinion:
ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR MINDS?
They are telling us to "prepare" but with absolutely no answer to the question, "How much?" it's like not telling us ANYTHING. The government is giving us nearly useless information.
The reality is that if a pandemic strikes, the majority of people will stay home to:
a) avoid infection
b) take care of their families to avoid having them become infected
c) take care of sick family members.
That is just human nature. Plus, schools will be closed, and someone must feed and watch those children. Daycares should also be closed to avoid the spread of infection.
The government SHOULD be telling its citizens that it should do all they can to try to stockpile for at least five months.
According to whatever data ABC News found for a Dateline special on the pandemic, the human pandemic would peak at 75 days. To me, that means there are 74 days to work up to it and 75 more days to wind down. That's five months. If it's in my area for five months, I want to be isolated for five months, at minimum. Six months is better.
If a family has stockpiled enough food for five months, workers in the family may be more likely to go into the workplace to help continue to provide the goods and services that the government wants them to continue to provide.
Those who can be isolated should be isolated. There are plenty of people who work at home, who are unemployed, stay-at-home parents, disabled, or who could take a break from their jobs if needed.
Those who must work may not be able to work in a pandemic. People who work in any field that may be affected by a pandemic (such as transportation, travel, entertainment, education, daycare, as just a few examples), will need to stay home.
Everyone needs to be told to stockpile food and medication, possibly water, NOW, to last at least five months. They should use it and replace it as needed to keep it fresh.
That is logical to me. Why isn't it logical to our government leaders?
As far as the government's belief that we cannot tell poor people to prepare because there is no way they can, that is ridiculous.
I say: Poor people aren't stupid. They will TRY to do what they need to do IF they know it needs to be done. Others may help them IF they KNOW exactly what needs to be done.
I don't believe every single poor person in New Orleans stayed in the city when Hurricane Katrina hit. The ones who could leave, I assume, did leave.
In a slide program I developed, I show how a family of four can live on rice and beans for $11.53 (total) a week. That's $272, total, for six months. The slide program is here: http://www.birdflupreparation.com/preptips.html See slide #18 and #19 specifically.
Rice and beans aren't a lot of fun to eat week after week. But it would keep anyone from starvation. They can start out with stockpiling rice and beans and add canned meat, vegetables, and fruit as they are able.
It is no secret that the current government administration has made many errors in the last few years. If the pandemic occurs, this error of omission will be one more error that will result in many, many deaths.
This scenario -- that the pandemic strikes, and that people stay home to starve because they failed to stockpile enough for five months -- can be avoided. People can prepare.
What You Can Do
You can:
1. Stockpile food, water, and medications for your family so that you have enough for five months. If you can, help others to stockpile.
2. Contact your government representatives and ask that the government stop playing games and be straight with the American people. Encourage them to encourage the administration to educate the general population about pandemic planning, including making recommendations for preparing for at least five months of isolation.
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The U.S. government has told its citizens via its web site, http://www.pandemicflu.gov and through 44 visits by Health and Human Secretary Michael Leavitt throughout the country, to prepare for a possible pandemic.
But the federal government refuses to say how many provisions a citizen should stockpile. They refuse to say whether preparing to live isolated for three days, three weeks, three months, or six months is a reasonable amount of time in the event of a pandemic.
It is obvious to me that such isolation would help you to avoid infection and would help you avoid starvation when illness affects the food distribution channels, leaving nothing on grocery shelves.
I called the HHS department in Washington, DC, yesterday (April 27, 2006) and left a message with my question about why the government was not making a recommendation. A department secretary returned my call and asked not to be quoted by name.
The secretary said the federal government relies on solid data before they make recommendations, and they do not have the data to make a recommendation on length of time for which you should prepare. She said they did not know when they would have the data or when they would ever make such a recommendation.
She said the government wants to be sure there is "continuity." She said that if they can encourage workers to continue to provide goods and services, then people won't have to stockpile as much. Plus, she said, it isn't fair to poor people to ask them to prepare for six months when there is no way that they could ever do that. "We need to think about ALL Americans," she said.
She also said that the pandemic could be hitting 5,000 different places at different times all over the United States, so you can't say that you need to be isolated for a certain time at a certain place.
My Opinion:
ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR MINDS?
They are telling us to "prepare" but with absolutely no answer to the question, "How much?" it's like not telling us ANYTHING. The government is giving us nearly useless information.
The reality is that if a pandemic strikes, the majority of people will stay home to:
a) avoid infection
b) take care of their families to avoid having them become infected
c) take care of sick family members.
That is just human nature. Plus, schools will be closed, and someone must feed and watch those children. Daycares should also be closed to avoid the spread of infection.
The government SHOULD be telling its citizens that it should do all they can to try to stockpile for at least five months.
According to whatever data ABC News found for a Dateline special on the pandemic, the human pandemic would peak at 75 days. To me, that means there are 74 days to work up to it and 75 more days to wind down. That's five months. If it's in my area for five months, I want to be isolated for five months, at minimum. Six months is better.
If a family has stockpiled enough food for five months, workers in the family may be more likely to go into the workplace to help continue to provide the goods and services that the government wants them to continue to provide.
Those who can be isolated should be isolated. There are plenty of people who work at home, who are unemployed, stay-at-home parents, disabled, or who could take a break from their jobs if needed.
Those who must work may not be able to work in a pandemic. People who work in any field that may be affected by a pandemic (such as transportation, travel, entertainment, education, daycare, as just a few examples), will need to stay home.
Everyone needs to be told to stockpile food and medication, possibly water, NOW, to last at least five months. They should use it and replace it as needed to keep it fresh.
That is logical to me. Why isn't it logical to our government leaders?
As far as the government's belief that we cannot tell poor people to prepare because there is no way they can, that is ridiculous.
I say: Poor people aren't stupid. They will TRY to do what they need to do IF they know it needs to be done. Others may help them IF they KNOW exactly what needs to be done.
I don't believe every single poor person in New Orleans stayed in the city when Hurricane Katrina hit. The ones who could leave, I assume, did leave.
In a slide program I developed, I show how a family of four can live on rice and beans for $11.53 (total) a week. That's $272, total, for six months. The slide program is here: http://www.birdflupreparation.com/preptips.html See slide #18 and #19 specifically.
Rice and beans aren't a lot of fun to eat week after week. But it would keep anyone from starvation. They can start out with stockpiling rice and beans and add canned meat, vegetables, and fruit as they are able.
It is no secret that the current government administration has made many errors in the last few years. If the pandemic occurs, this error of omission will be one more error that will result in many, many deaths.
This scenario -- that the pandemic strikes, and that people stay home to starve because they failed to stockpile enough for five months -- can be avoided. People can prepare.
What You Can Do
You can:
1. Stockpile food, water, and medications for your family so that you have enough for five months. If you can, help others to stockpile.
2. Contact your government representatives and ask that the government stop playing games and be straight with the American people. Encourage them to encourage the administration to educate the general population about pandemic planning, including making recommendations for preparing for at least five months of isolation.
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posted by Mrs Bird Flu | 7:21 AM
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