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Biosecurity Briefing
NGA Offers Pandemic Planning Guidance to State and Local Governments; Regional Planning Begins in New England; NYC Releases Pandemic Flu Plan By Allison Chamberlain and Christiana Usenza, July 21, 2006 On July 18, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices issued a primer for governors and senior state officials on how to best prepare states for pandemic influenza.[1] As described by NGA Vice Chair Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano in a press release: "Strong state leadership will be crucial. This document will help governors and state officials understand their unique roles in the development of an effective response plan and the challenges they face."[2] Promoting the theme of “state self reliance,” the document is “intended to complement” federal guidance. The primer outlines key steps for maintaining continuity of operations, creating effective public communications strategies, and understanding how federal government initiatives, such as distributions of medications from the Strategic National Stockpile, are intended to support states’ efforts, not substitute them. Meanwhile, on July 1, The Providence Journal reported that health officials from the 6 New England states and New York met in Boston, MA, to begin coordinating how their state governments would respond to a flu pandemic.[3] According to the meeting’s organizer, Dr. L. Anthony Cirillo, interim director of the Rhode Island Health Department's Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response, the participants reached consensus on closing schools as “an important strategy to slow the spread of disease,"[3] stockpiling masks for healthcare workers, and using antivirals to treat the sick instead of using them as a preventive measure. The next step in the regional planning process is a tabletop exercise scheduled for late August at the Naval War College in Newport. On a related front, on July 10, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden released New York City's Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan.[4] According to a press release, the plan “covers critical health areas needed in a pandemic, including disease monitoring, laboratory capacity, vaccine and medicine delivery, hospital preparedness, mental health, and communications."[5] Developed with city, state, and local input, the plan is part of a coordinated multi-agency emergency response effort that includes the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and the Fire and Police Departments. According to Dr. Frieden; “This plan provides the framework for a coordinated response to help protect the health of New Yorkers, and it will be refined on an ongoing basis."[5] The 266 page plan emphasizes the healthcare system's ability to respond to an influenza pandemic and focuses response efforts around 4 main goals:
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