Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.dailynews.com/opinions/ci_12985127
Obama's flu test
Feds must work effectively with local agencies to distribute swine flu vaccine
Updated: 08/03/2009 05:56:12 PM PDT
If the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predictions about a swine flu pandemic prove correct, and up to 40 percent of Americans become infected and several hundred thousand people die, then the Obama administration will face its first national health care crisis this fall.
The CDC said this is not a drill. They are predicting a swine flu outbreak this fall and winter in much larger numbers than a typical seasonal flu outbreak.
So far, swine flu's blow has been glancing, killing about 500 Americans. But the victims proportionately are higher among young adults, which indicates a troublesome trend. One group, pregnant women, has accounted for 6 percent of swine flu deaths in this country. They represent 1 percent of the population.
All indications are that President Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius are gearing up to do battle with this unpredictable virus. They've pledged to allocate about $8.5billion on prevention programs, with the bulk to be spent buying and distributing vaccines to all 50 states for free.
While a healthy supply is needed if the most at-risk Americans are to be vaccinated, the question is whether the solution can reach the American people in time to have an effect.
So far the Obama administration's solutions to the nation's crises have had lukewarm effects - we're still waiting for results from the $819 billion economic stimulus package.
Now, with a potentially potent public health threat lurking, it is crucial that Obama's message make it beyond the Washington beltway. A successful vaccine will do no good if it sits on laboratory shelves.
The Obama administration and the CDC must connect with lower levels of government, from state offices of emergency services, to county public health agencies and school districts. Frankly, we haven't seen evidence of these kinds of connections from the still young White House, at least not in our region. And certainly not from the uninspiring California delegation in Congress.
If a swine flu vaccine is to roll out in say, October or November, then hospitals, clinics, doctors and HMOs must be part of the rollout team - the same stakeholders that Obama promised would be part of health care reform.
We need to see boots on the ground.
In a sense, this will be more of a test for the president's ability to affect health care reform than the various health care reform bills bouncing from committee to committee on Capitol Hill.
People will need the vaccine as a first line of defense against contracting and ultimately, spreading this flu virus. If the vaccination program stalls, how can the public trust Obama's effort to reform the nation's health care system? If the effort works well, this will be a boost to the president, showing that big government can take the lead, in cooperation with lower levels and the private sector, and quickly solve health care problems.
Failure to prepare for the swine flu outbreak being predicted by Obama's own CDC leadership has the potential of being what Hurricane Katrina was to George W. Bush and his Federal Emergency Management chief Michael Brown.
We are not ready to say "Good job, Katie" just yet.
Obama's flu test
Feds must work effectively with local agencies to distribute swine flu vaccine
Updated: 08/03/2009 05:56:12 PM PDT
If the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predictions about a swine flu pandemic prove correct, and up to 40 percent of Americans become infected and several hundred thousand people die, then the Obama administration will face its first national health care crisis this fall.
The CDC said this is not a drill. They are predicting a swine flu outbreak this fall and winter in much larger numbers than a typical seasonal flu outbreak.
So far, swine flu's blow has been glancing, killing about 500 Americans. But the victims proportionately are higher among young adults, which indicates a troublesome trend. One group, pregnant women, has accounted for 6 percent of swine flu deaths in this country. They represent 1 percent of the population.
All indications are that President Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius are gearing up to do battle with this unpredictable virus. They've pledged to allocate about $8.5billion on prevention programs, with the bulk to be spent buying and distributing vaccines to all 50 states for free.
While a healthy supply is needed if the most at-risk Americans are to be vaccinated, the question is whether the solution can reach the American people in time to have an effect.
So far the Obama administration's solutions to the nation's crises have had lukewarm effects - we're still waiting for results from the $819 billion economic stimulus package.
Now, with a potentially potent public health threat lurking, it is crucial that Obama's message make it beyond the Washington beltway. A successful vaccine will do no good if it sits on laboratory shelves.
The Obama administration and the CDC must connect with lower levels of government, from state offices of emergency services, to county public health agencies and school districts. Frankly, we haven't seen evidence of these kinds of connections from the still young White House, at least not in our region. And certainly not from the uninspiring California delegation in Congress.
If a swine flu vaccine is to roll out in say, October or November, then hospitals, clinics, doctors and HMOs must be part of the rollout team - the same stakeholders that Obama promised would be part of health care reform.
We need to see boots on the ground.
In a sense, this will be more of a test for the president's ability to affect health care reform than the various health care reform bills bouncing from committee to committee on Capitol Hill.
People will need the vaccine as a first line of defense against contracting and ultimately, spreading this flu virus. If the vaccination program stalls, how can the public trust Obama's effort to reform the nation's health care system? If the effort works well, this will be a boost to the president, showing that big government can take the lead, in cooperation with lower levels and the private sector, and quickly solve health care problems.
Failure to prepare for the swine flu outbreak being predicted by Obama's own CDC leadership has the potential of being what Hurricane Katrina was to George W. Bush and his Federal Emergency Management chief Michael Brown.
We are not ready to say "Good job, Katie" just yet.
