http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=health&id=4156292
Philadelphia Officials Silent on Bird Flu Plans
<!--Start Left column--->PHILADELPHIA (AP) - May 9, 2006 - State and local officials are refining and holding practice sessions on their pandemic flu plans, but officials in Philadelphia aren't sharing theirs.
Caroline Johnson, the director of the city Health Department's disease control division, says, "The plan is still being tweaked to get finishing touches."
Stephen Harmelin, the chairman of the board of the Thomas Skelton Harrison Foundation, a group that promotes good government, says he is "uncomfortable" about the planning efforts. "Part of any plan," he says, "has to be informing the public so people know what to anticipate." Harmelin says he doesn't "get the sense of urgency the situation requires."
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A foundation report says Philadelphia has not made an assessment since 1998 of the threats residents would face or how the city would respond. It also has not stockpiled enough supplies such as syringes, and it lacks a laboratory suitable for testing flu samples. Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Philadelphia Officials Silent on Bird Flu Plans
<!--Start Left column--->PHILADELPHIA (AP) - May 9, 2006 - State and local officials are refining and holding practice sessions on their pandemic flu plans, but officials in Philadelphia aren't sharing theirs.
Caroline Johnson, the director of the city Health Department's disease control division, says, "The plan is still being tweaked to get finishing touches."
Stephen Harmelin, the chairman of the board of the Thomas Skelton Harrison Foundation, a group that promotes good government, says he is "uncomfortable" about the planning efforts. "Part of any plan," he says, "has to be informing the public so people know what to anticipate." Harmelin says he doesn't "get the sense of urgency the situation requires."
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A foundation report says Philadelphia has not made an assessment since 1998 of the threats residents would face or how the city would respond. It also has not stockpiled enough supplies such as syringes, and it lacks a laboratory suitable for testing flu samples. Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer
