The United States Needs To Rethink Pandemic Preparations

By -
From the CEO of pharmaceutical company Novartis, as reported in the New York Times, 
The real trial by fire for me was leading our response to the H1N1 pandemic in 2009. Novartis had become the largest supplier of H1N1 vaccines to the U.S. government. We were behind, as were all companies, because we were trying to develop these vaccines in, like, six months, something that usually takes about six years. We were far enough behind that I was on calls with Kathleen Sebelius, the health secretary, and the White House, under huge amounts of pressure to figure out how to make this all happen.
It became clear that the only way to get the organization to deliver 150 million doses of vaccines was to inspire people. It was such an audacious thing to try to get all of this done. And in the end we did pretty well. We were only a couple of months later that we needed to be to get the full supply in.
Did that experience leave you hopeful or concerned about our ability to respond to a pandemic?
I remain deeply concerned. In that instance we were incredibly fortunate that the virus was not deadlier. But I think we are not at all prepared for a pandemic.
There are a couple of challenges. One is that the industry cannot make it financially sustainable to have the capacity to be ready for a pandemic, because it just sits idle. But the governments lose interest, right? So you have to invest in the long run from a public sector standpoint. If there are no pandemics for a while, then people don’t want to invest in this. So I think that remains a challenge, whether it’s pandemic influenza, Ebola, Lassa fever, Zika. We are ill prepared, and are just dodging bullets.
One of the critical issues in Washington, DC is that "nothing succeeds like failure." What that means is that nothing will be done until a pandemic occurs, taking thousands of lives. Then, our government will throw tens of billions at the problem for a few years and then lose interest until the next pandemic.

What do you do to protect your family? A great tool is Diseasecast which forecasts (like meteorologists forecast weather) where disease risk is highest. In the middle of the page you will find products selected by Ascel Bio's experts to help you best "illness-proof" your family. For instance, influenza-presentation items are here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hilary's Forecast Path Shifts West; Updated 9:20am PDT

By -
Image
The forecast path of the center of Hilary has shifted a bit to the west. This increases the threat to the Southland, especially in terms of flooding.  Rainfall Note the heavy rains are forecast for Los Angeles County. Serious flash flooding may result. Because the forecast path has shifted to the west, that increases the threat of serious flooding in Los Angeles County north into Yosemite and the southern Sierra. It lessens the threat in Utah and western Arizona. While the threat of widespread flooding in Utah and Arizona lessens, note that some thunderstorms with localized heavy rain show up on the map.  In Nevada, the more western path increases the risk of serious flooding around Mt Charleston and into the central part of the state.  Here is the updated  (9am PDT) flash flood risk map. Wind There are already about 40,000 people without power in California, mostly in the center of the state.  The maps above are the peak gusts forecasted with the storm. The highest winds, in general,
Read more

Dangerous Travel Conditions - People Reportedly Stranded

By -
Image
-- Note, more current info available. Scroll up. --- Updated Information as of 8am PDT You are risking your life if you attempt to travel through the purple area.  While the rain has not begun in coastal California, I would urge you to use this time to make any preparations. Power outages have occurred already in southeast California. Here is the latest radar as of 7:55am PDT. As of 6:40am PDT , the radar indicates moderate to heavy rain falling over desert areas of Southern California and far western Arizona (click to enlarge).  Rainfall amounts for the 24 hours ending at 7am PDT show more than two inches have already fallen. There are reports from reliable sources that roads are already washed out and that people are stranded in isolated parts of the desert.  Below is a high-resolution computer model's rainfall forecast from 5am PDT to 11pm PDT Sunday. More than a foot of additional rain is forecast to fall. This will lead to catastrophic flooding.  Here is a map of current watc
Read more

Update on Tornado and Wind Potential; 12 Noon PDT

By -
Image
There was at least one tornado and at least one funnel cloud yesterday.  --- original forecast --- Hilary (the swirly symbol) continues to move NNW paralleling the coast of Baja California, Mexico. The area outlined in red has a significant risk of tornadoe s the rest of the afternoon.  Below is a list of peak wind gusts so far.  Peak winds may increase farther north as the afternoon progresses.  Addition at 12 noon PDT: Sure enough, winds have increased.  Note: If you are in the San Diego area, I recommend not  traveling east on I-8. Heavy rains may cause flash flooding that will involve the highway. 
Read more