Every year, people die from Influenza. This is an unavoidable fact. Every year, a flu vaccine is made available, and although in some years it is not a perfect match for the strain of the flu that is present, many people are spared the effects of the flu.
Every 20-40 years, a strain of flu develops that is unlike any previously seen. Because it is new, people do not have a natural resistance to it, and it can cause a large number of illnesses and fatalities. Depending on the severity of the spread of this new type of flu, a pandemic can be declared by public health officials.
A pandemic flu will cause many of the social and government structures that we rely on every day to function at a level that is “less than ideal.” For example, local stores, including grocery stores, could be shut down due to a lack of staff (either sick or just staying home out of fear of getting the flu), or a shortage of supplies brought upon by a lack of truck drivers to deliver the supplies.
Government agencies, including police and fire departments, could see a shortage of employees as staff gets sick or their family members get sick and need support at home. Police and firefighters have family also, and their needs are the same as everyone else!
Most importantly, Hospitals will be overwhelmed! The major hospitals that normally see patients from Holbrook and Avon, including South Shore Hospital, Caritas Good Samaritans, and Brockton Hospital, are in the best of times operating at close to capacity, and economic realities prevent them from having extra beds and equipment on hand. Plans are being developed to use Medical Reserve Corps and obtain extra space for surge capacity. However, staff and equipment shortages will be a factor and waiting time will be a concern.
Federal, State, and Local officials have been planning for years for this eventuality. The towns Holbrook and Avon have joined together to plan for a joint Emergency Dispensing Site (EDS) which will be located at Holbrook High School on South Franklin Street. If a Pandemic is declared and a decision by Federal, State and Local officials is made to open the EDS, flu vaccine will be sent to Holbrook High School and dispensed by healthcare professionals, most of whom will be volunteers, with support from a trained staff of local residents.
Once it is opened as the EDS, residents of HOLBROOK and AVON will come to Holbrook High School for the Flu Vaccine. Rationing and Prioritizing may be necessary at first until adequate stocks of vaccine can be delivered.
The best thing that you can do now to ready your household for a pandemic flu is to:
- EDUCATE yourself
- Create a DISASTER KIT using a multi-hazard approach
- Volunteer for the EDS, the Medical Reserve Corps, and/or local Emergency Management.
This website will help you do all of the above!
