Law enforcement/Rescue Services and Pandemics
History has seen a wide variety of diseases and viral epidemics that have spread throughout the United States and the world. As a civilization, people have learned to adapt and overcome diseases. With the current outbreak of the “H1N1 virus” or “Swine Flu”, some important issues come into question for police and rescue crews of California: If a major pandemic hit California, how could it be stopped? In the case of a pandemic, how should vaccines be distributed? Are California law enforcement and rescue serves prepared for a nation wide pandemic?
To completely understand the previous questions, one must first understand what is a Pandemic? According to California Office of Emergency Services handbook on California Mass Fatality, a “pandemic” is a disease that affects people on a worldwide scale. In a pandemic, society experiences a new flu strain, which affects humans and causes serious illness. As well, this pandemic has the ability to spread among humans very easily. Some current famous pandemics that hit the United States are West Nile Virus and Avian Flu.
With an understanding of the textbook definition of a pandemic, if a major pandemic hit the state of California, how could it be stopped? According to the Office of Emergency services, California is not immune to a global pandemic and that if a pandemic did hit, an estimated 25,000 to 59,000 would die from the virus . This is mainly due to the lack in health care. Although society’s health system does not allow if this, a system like a lottery could be used to distribute the vaccinations to everyone and not just the wealthy. As well, law enforcement should be able to “quarantine” the infected and people who are not sick to keep the disease from spreading. Stricter laws should be imposed so law enforcement could have these capabilities in times of crisis. Since the military is not a force that can handle civil matters, these laws should prevent the government from placing military forces in a law enforcement capacity.
Another important question that is brought to mind is that with the next pandemic: Who should receive the vaccinations? According to the Centers for Disease control pregnant women, household contacts and caregivers and emergency medical personnel are all high on the list for receiving the H1N1 vaccine. However, the priorities for people who receive the vaccination should be re – focused for law enforcement personnel. The main reason why law enforcement and emergency medical/rescue personnel should be given priority over the general population is that they are the ones who can help when it is needed the most. After law enforcement and rescue personnel are vaccinated, vaccines should be distributed by a case upon case basis.
The last question that comes into affect is that is the law enforcement personnel and medical/rescue personnel equipped to handle an outbreak? In the state of California, the Office of Emergency services in the Coroner’s Mutual aid program outlines guidelines of what to do in the planning and consideration part of a pandemic. In the same program, it is projected that 30-50% of “critical employees” due to illness, death, or absenteeism will greatly affect the work of the coroner’s office. With that being said, law enforcement and medical personnel are not ready for a disastrous pandemic. Despite all the training and updates on new diseases, the Office of Emergency services handbook basically says that without outside help from other states or the federal government, work with the deceased and infected will be slow and arduous. With critical workers who do survive, fearing for their lives, most will not report to work. Besides all being said and done, general law enforcement and rescue services are not ready to handle a disastrous pandemic.
What can be learned from present flu pandemics like swine flu is that changes are needed to be made to be prepared for the next real pandemic. Protocols and policies should not only be adjusted to keep order but among society but to also assist law enforcement and rescue workers. It is by understanding the capabilities of law enforcement and rescue personnel in the present that they would know what to do for the future.
References
§ Renteria, Henry. The California Mass Fatality Guide: A Supplement to the State of California Coroners’ Mutual Aid Plan: Governer’s Office of Emergency Services, 2007
Websites also used:
§ http://www.cdc.gov/
§ http://www.flu.gov/
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