H1N1
WASHINGTON — The H1N1 flu outbreak has exposed serious underlying gaps in the nation’s ability to respond to public health, according to the seventh annual report “Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism.”
The report, released Dec. 15 by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found that 20 states scored six or less out of 10 key indicators of public health emergency preparedness.
Nearly two-thirds of states scored seven or lower. Eight states tied for the highest score of nine out of 10: Arkansas, Delaware, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, and Vermont. Montana had the lowest score at three out of 10. The preparedness indicators are developed in consultation with leading public health experts based on data from publicly available sources or information provided by public officials.
“The H1N1 outbreak has vividly revealed existing gaps in public health emergency preparedness,” said Richard Hamburg, deputy director of the Trust for America’s Health. “The Ready or Not? report shows that a band-aid approach to public health is inadequate. As the second wave of H1N1 starts to dissipate, it doesn’t mean we can let down our defenses. In fact, it’s time to double down and provide a sustained investment in the underlying infrastructure, so we will be prepared for the next emergency and the one after that.”
Overall, the report found that the investments made in pandemic and public health preparedness over the past several years dramatically improved U.S. readiness for the H1N1 outbreak. But it also found that decades of chronic underfunding meant that many core systems were immediately ready. Some key infrastructure concerns were a lack of real-time coordinated disease surveillance and laboratory testing, outdated vaccine production capabilities, limited hospital surge capacity, and a shrinking public health workforce.
Some key findings from the report include:
13 states have purchased less than 50 percent of their share of federally subsidized antiviral drugs to stockpile for use during an influenza pandemic.
14 states do not have the capacity in place to assure the timely pickup and delivery of laboratory samples on a round-the-clock basis to the Laboratory Response Network.
11 states and the District of Columbia report not having enough laboratory staffing capacity to work five 12-hour days for six to eight weeks in response to an infectious disease outbreak, such as H1N1.
“State and local health departments around the country are being asked to do more with less during the H1N1 outbreak as budgets continue to be stretched beyond their limits,” said Michelle Larkin, public health team director and senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Public health provides essential prevention and preparedness services that help us lead healthier lives— without sustained and stable funding, Americans will continue to be needlessly at risk from the next public health threat.”
A full list of all of the indicators and scores and the full report are available on the Trust for America’s Health Web site at www.healthyamericans.org and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s site at www.rwjf.org.