Thursday, February 28, 2013 09:02
On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill to strengthen national preparedness for public health emergencies, such as major pandemics, natural disasters, even nuclear attacks. The Senate has mandated the Department of Health and Human Services to devise an all-encompassing National Health Security Strategy and
submit it to Congress by 2014.
submit it to Congress by 2014.
The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act, introduced by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), was passed overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives last month and needs only to be signed into law by the president. The far-reaching nature of the provisions in the bill are outweighed by the obvious necessity of a plan of action should a widespread disaster take place.
In 2002, The People’s Republic of China experienced a sweeping epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which resulted in a reported 806 infections and 34 deaths.
At the time, SARS had yet to be identified as a new infectious disease. The Chinese government discouraged its press from reporting on SARS and lagged in reporting the situation to the World Health Organization, delaying the initial report, only relaying warnings in the province in which the initial outbreaks took place. As an indirect result, the disease was not properly documented until its next major outbreak in 2003.
More recently, Hurricane Sandy, often referred to as Superstorm Sandy, devastated portions of the Caribbean and Northeastern U.S. when it made landfall in October. The storm affected 24 states and caused more than $71 billion in damage. The Senate voted on a bill to allocate $60 billion in relief efforts in December, but voting in the House was postponed until the next congressional session.
Suffering people shouldn’t be at the whim of an indecisive, divisive government every time a new mass emergency arises. The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act may serve as a benchmark for consistent relief in the wake of future disaster. http://www.thedaonline.com/opinion/editorial-disaster-preparedness-a-necessity-1.3001169#.UTAAxjBwe5I
