Jez Cruzen
December 13, 2005, 05:56
I attended a meeting several weeks ago that included a pandemic presentation by a representative from my state's health department. Included in the presentation (which was given using "Power Point") was a "slide" depicting the two-tiered vaccination priority list developed by the CDC.
Once limited influenza vaccine has begun to be manufactured after an influenza pandemic begins, the CDC's priority list is to be followed by health care providers to determine exactly WHO would receive the limited vaccine supply first. (Estimates are that current vaccine manufacturing capacity would only allow production of enough vaccine to supply 1 % of the population per week, so you can imagine the social friction that will develop.)
Topping Tier One with the highest priority would be health care workers (no surprise there!) who deliver direct patient care. (I'm sure that everyone who wears a smock right down to the person that empties the trash can will be lining up to be included in that category.)
Next are those who suffer from dimmished immune system function and the elderly, followed by pregnant women. (Young children are at the bottom of Tier Two, so one has to wonder why "pregnant women" ended up so high!)
Public Safety ended up over on Tier Two. No mention was made of the military, so my guess is that the DOD has their own intentions, CDC be damned!
I could not obtain a copy of this list, nor have I been able to locate it on-line at either my state's health department's site or CDC's. I do know that the list caused a considerable amount of discontent within the room amonst the attendees - who were mostly public safety. In fact, I would go as far as to say that many were pissed once they learned of CDC's plans!
Its obvious that those that developed this priority list were from the medical field and used their narrowly focused view of reality. What good does it do to vaccinate those individuals in a nursing home and not the truck drivers that deliver our fuel and food? Why vaccinate all health care workers when everyone admits the health care system will almost immediately be overwhelmed and most of the sick will be told to remain at home with family taking care of them while those on the fire engine or in the police cruiser go without?
To some I'm sure my view seems somewhat cold-hearted, but I strongly believe that those that keep the county safe and those that keep the country operating and supplied with basic neccessities should be much higher up to receive any limited supply of vaccine.
If the amount of dissent that I have witnessed is occuring now when a pandemic has'nt even begun, you can imagine what will occur once it does!
Once limited influenza vaccine has begun to be manufactured after an influenza pandemic begins, the CDC's priority list is to be followed by health care providers to determine exactly WHO would receive the limited vaccine supply first. (Estimates are that current vaccine manufacturing capacity would only allow production of enough vaccine to supply 1 % of the population per week, so you can imagine the social friction that will develop.)
Topping Tier One with the highest priority would be health care workers (no surprise there!) who deliver direct patient care. (I'm sure that everyone who wears a smock right down to the person that empties the trash can will be lining up to be included in that category.)
Next are those who suffer from dimmished immune system function and the elderly, followed by pregnant women. (Young children are at the bottom of Tier Two, so one has to wonder why "pregnant women" ended up so high!)
Public Safety ended up over on Tier Two. No mention was made of the military, so my guess is that the DOD has their own intentions, CDC be damned!
I could not obtain a copy of this list, nor have I been able to locate it on-line at either my state's health department's site or CDC's. I do know that the list caused a considerable amount of discontent within the room amonst the attendees - who were mostly public safety. In fact, I would go as far as to say that many were pissed once they learned of CDC's plans!
Its obvious that those that developed this priority list were from the medical field and used their narrowly focused view of reality. What good does it do to vaccinate those individuals in a nursing home and not the truck drivers that deliver our fuel and food? Why vaccinate all health care workers when everyone admits the health care system will almost immediately be overwhelmed and most of the sick will be told to remain at home with family taking care of them while those on the fire engine or in the police cruiser go without?
To some I'm sure my view seems somewhat cold-hearted, but I strongly believe that those that keep the county safe and those that keep the country operating and supplied with basic neccessities should be much higher up to receive any limited supply of vaccine.
If the amount of dissent that I have witnessed is occuring now when a pandemic has'nt even begun, you can imagine what will occur once it does!