Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

What if? Local officials make plans for pandemic

Imagine what would happen if a large percentage of the population of Nevada County fell ill. Who would care for those who were sick? Who would take over their jobs and duties? How would the county survive if there was no outside help available?

Those were among the questions raised during a recent meeting of county officials, including health care, law enforcement and government workers.

The situation? A pandemic outbreak of a disease, possibly the flu. The solution? Planning.

According to Edie Greenwood, administrator of the local Department of Health and Human Services, the last major pandemic occurred in 1918 and that event was used as a model to plan for future events. Greenwood said there have been other pandemics over the past century, but none have been nearly so serious. Greenwood said healthcare officials believe its only a matter of time before another catastrophic event occurs.

Local physician Dr. Michael Young said there are several ways a pandemic event could happen. It could be that a strain of flu mutates, evolving to the point that its resistant to vaccines. It could also be a manmade epidemic.

In many cases, a person can be infected with a flu virus and can spread the virus before they show any symptoms of being ill.

There are several problems that county residents would face if that happened. One is that people who normally take care of specific jobs may not be able to perform those. They could be sick themselves or caring for family members who are ill. The person who collects trash, police officers who keep order or even the pharmacist who normally dispenses drugs might be unable to perform those jobs.

Another problem is that the county would be - at least to a great degree - isolated. Other counties and even the nation would likely be facing the same crisis, meaning no one could come to their aid. More than likely, there would be little outside deliveries, bringing back memories of recent ice storms that temporarily halted truck traffic to local stores.

Added to everything else, vaccinations would likely be in limited supply forcing decisions about who should receive the vaccines.

The good news is that local officials are working on plans for that eventuality. The 911 building would become a center of command. Young would take charge as county health officer and would oversee vaccinations and other health-related issues. Because Nevada County doesnt have a hospital, surrounding counties with those resources have included Nevada County in their plans.

Young recently told members of the Prescott Rotary Club that he has already received his annual flu vaccine. The health departments had not arrived but was expected during the month of November. There is no shortage of vaccine predicted though some newspapers reported delays in early shipments.