CDC flu pandemic guidelines: Repeating the disastrous errors of Katrina

The pandemic flu guidelines presented by the CDC repeat the same fundamental errors that were made in preparation for a New Orleans hurricane. With the Katrina disaster in mind, the CDC has introduced a hurricane style classification scheme to label pandemic intensity. But like the failed New Orleans plans, the CDC depends on volunteerism and completely ignores the deep social inequalities—particularly race and class. Some of the proposals and the problems with them include: Avoiding crowded public transportation. The planner's assumption in New Orleans that everyone could find private transportation on their own led to tens of thousands being stranded. Those with symptoms stay home from work. Millions of workers have little or no paid sick-leave and can't afford to miss a day, let alone a week's paycheck. Consider telecommuting. This is possible for a limited number of upper income and professional employees. Very few ordinary workers can do it. Stockpile food. Millions in the country are now labled “food insecure” and don't have enough for day-to-day. Keep children home from school and daycare centers. How will working parents care for them? Public Service Announcements to refer people to a government website for information. Many are without web access; many others get the web at schools and libraries that may be closed. The same blindness to the conditions of people of color and workers created the Katrina disaster. Given the public health slogan of ending health disparities, a CDC plan that ignores them is unacceptable and doomed to failure.