insurance flu shot
A year after President Bush's plan to monitor and treat a pandemic influenza outbreak became known, has not yet been fully implemented. In the coming weeks, the White House will announce the priority list that will receive the flu vaccine first in the event of an outbreak, but the important elements of the strategy – As the organization and approval of school closures – are still being evaluated.
Limited capacity as such by federal and state governments to control An outbreak of infectious disease could be particularly important for states like Texas, where proximity to the border is a major concern. The cities of Austin, Houston and Dallas, perhaps, stands on even more attention, as health systems are not only already overburdened by a state where 25% of the population lacks health insurance – the worst rate in the country – but also the lack of a sufficient number of qualified doctors to address the problem. The absolute population density of cities, in combination with these other factors, could be a deadly combination for the State. The denser the population, faster spread an infectious agent. If such an outbreak were to occur, would be almost impossible to control, and so difficult to treat.
Compounding the problem in Texas, the federal government has decided not to close the borders if a pandemic flu outbreak occurs internationally – particularly in Mexico, Central and Latin South – opting instead to only "limit" the number of new arrivals and detention of those suspected of carrying the infection. Goods and people will continue allowing "flow" across international lines.
The borders are difficult to close, said officials, as evidenced by the past events. "It is inevitable that [the flu] will be here in the U.S., regardless of the actions taken at the borders," said Dr. Rajeev Vankayya, assistant president's special for biodefense.
Planning and significant investments have been made, however, according to officials, which revealed changes in the plan earlier this month in a briefing at the White House. One billion dollars has been allocated by the discovery of new manufacturing methods influenza vaccine, and the Department of Health and Human Services has released 897 million U.S. dollars to states of emergency preparedness efforts, including $ 175 million to control an outbreak of pandemic flu.
The U.S. system for monitoring and control of infectious diseases still needs a lot of work, however, according to Dr. Vankayya. There is still no uniform effective biomonitoring system in place, and the country has little or no spare capacity in hospitals or other health facilities to address the problem. "We have a lot of trouble determining when we have an outbreak of disease in a community here in the U.S., "said Dr. Vankayya.
Furthermore, allocating more money to the pharmaceutical industry under the scrutiny of government subsidies too expensive excessive, and conflicts of interest, while millions of Americans have insurance and adequate health care, do not sit well with many citizens. Other Expense billion in the development of new methods of making a flu shot or many of them can not solve the real problem that the vaccine does not always work, partly because the number of existing flu strains, and its ability to mutate. For each strain, a new vaccine must be manufactured. By the time a vaccine is manufactured and distributed the public, may be useless. Many believe that money could be better spent on addressing the very real current problem of lack of insurance and the statistical between his misconduct and the availability of quality health care.
"I'm not sure how I feel about that," said Keith, a self-employed craftsman who lack health insurance. "So the government wants to give drug companies another billion for a vaccine that may or may not get in based on my "priority list" for an outbreak that may or may not happen until now go without health care because they can not afford insurance? And I do not 'm not alone. I realize the possibility of an outbreak should be addressed but I do not know, just does not seem right. "
Limited progress could be of little consolation to a country that is obviously concerned, but increasingly tired of the repeated warnings of possible terrorist attacks and disease outbreaks. Especially for residents of border states, to be told that there is a distinct possibility of a horrible and deadly, the rampant spread of infectious diseases across the country – while also reported that not only does not close the borders, but also that it is doing little to increase the capacity of their already overburdened health systems "to treatment of its current load, let alone a new influx of victims does not play a lot of confidence in the ability of President Bush to "protect and serve". The message for now seems to be, "Hold on Tight because it may or may not be able to help."
Preparing for an influenza pandemic is an important part of caring their health, but so is taking care of yourself on a daily basis. How do you take care of yourself will certainly affect you as you age, and eventually your wallet, too.
About the Author:
Pat Carpenter writes for Precedent Insurance Company. Precedent puts a new spin on health insurance. Learn more at Precedent.com
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – United States Still Not Prepared For A Pandemic Flu Outbreak: Texas May Be At Particular Risk
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