Are YOU Ready in 3?-- Pandemic Flu Preparedness

Prevention

Because pandemic flu is so severe, it is important to prevent the spread and contraction of it in the general population. Vaccines can be made, but as the avian flu can mutate (change) so quickly, an effective vaccine is hard to produce and would probably not be available to many people right away in the case of an outbreak. This does not have to be a hopeless situation, however. In the case of a major outbreak, “businesses and other employers will play a key role in protecting employees’ health and safety as well as limiting the negative impact to the economy and society” (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2009). Businesses should therefore take great care to make emergency plans today.

The majority of an American’s waking hours are spent at work, making their workplace one of the most logical places for preventative and protective care and a likely place they may contract pandemic flu if there is an outbreak. In addition, if there is an outbreak, it is projected that absenteeism could reach as high as 30 to 40 percent everywhere, people may need to stay at home for many days, and disruptions may occur in such critical areas as public safety and emergency response, fuel delivery and product shipping” (Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, 2009). As one can see, any of these scenarios could cause major problems for different worksites. Fortunately, one program that can prepare a business for a pandemic flu outbreak is the Ready in 3 Program, in which a business can create a plan, prepare a kit, and listen for information (Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, 2009).

How to Implement the Ready in 3 Program

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (2009), to implement the Ready in 3 Program, a business should:

1. Create an Emergency Planning Team

-Identify the most important areas of the business as well as what parts of the business could be shut down in the case of mass absenteeism

-Describe exactly how an outbreak could affect the business, processes, and people

-Prioritize the risks

2. Create an action plan/kit

-Share this plan with everybody in the business and other businesses

-Prepare all employees with this plan

-Practice the plan

-Review the plan yearly to keep it up-to-date

3. Listen for information

-About possible pandemic flu outbreaks

-Vaccinations or medications

-New information on the avian flu

More detailed information on the Ready in 3 plan can be found at http://www.dhss.mo.gov/Ready_in_3/.

Work Cited

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. (2009). Are you ready?. Retrieved
February 12, 2009, from http://www.dhss.mo.gov/Ready_in_3/Plan.html.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. (2009). Preparing for an influenza
pandemic: A guide to planning for business. Retrieved February 12, 2009, from http://www.dhss.mo.gov/Ready_in_3/PanFluBusinessGuide.pdf.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2009). Pandemic flu. Retrieved February 12, 2009, from http://pandemicflu.gov/index.html.