PARIS — To me the dialogue over pandemic flu preparedness shifted significantly here today in a seven-hour trawl through the issues by some of the most informed people on the planet.
A long-standing mission of mitigating morbidity and mortality shifted to "keeping society functioning."
Dr. Didier Houssin, director general of health for the French government, outlined this country’s development of a pandemic flu program. Originally, he said, the French government focus was on reducing morbidity and mortality. As experiences grew, business, social and economic issues emerged.
Has continuity emerged as a consideration in America, he asked?
In the report on the study Pandemic Flu and the Potential for U.S. Economic Recession, Dr. Jeffrey Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health, said that group also focused on the morbidity and mortality issues connected with onset of a pandemic. Reviewing the issues with citizen groups led to a realization that in the event of a pandemic, "keeping society functioning" is the challenge.
We cannot sustain the level of isolation being called for, he told the group.
