Response to avian influenza

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California public health officials are using state and federal efforts to equip up to 10,000 farmworkers with masks, gloves, goggles and other safety equipment, at least as allowed by the state. We are putting in stockpiled items. 21 human cases Avian influenza situation in early November. It's the latest reminder of the state's struggle to maintain preparedness amid multibillion-dollar deficits.

Officials said they began distributing more than 2 million pieces of personal protective equipment in late May, four months before the state's first human case was confirmed. In April, the company announced it had begun working more closely with local health authorities after the first detection of avian influenza in U.S. cattle. 270 Dairy industry Traces were recently detected at a wastewater collection site in Los Angeles County. Avian influenza was recently detected as well. commercial turkey flock Located in Sacramento County.

California is applying many lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, including coordinating emergency responses with local health officials and tracking infectious diseases. wastewater monitoringAs countries seek to limit the spread of avian influenza to humans. The government strives to maintain adequate emergency reserves to withstand the first wave of a new public health disaster without hemorrhaging the national budget.

“We are far better prepared to respond to a pandemic than we were in 2020,” said Amy Palmer, a spokeswoman for the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

For example, before the coronavirus outbreak in 2020, the state's stockpile of emergency supplies was barely large enough to fill two basketball courts.

By the time California ramped up its pandemic response, it had enough personal protective equipment and other disaster supplies to fill 52 soccer fields. California spent $15.6 billion on direct pandemic response during the years of the coronavirus crisis, much of it provided by the federal government.

Currently, the stockpile is equivalent to about 12 and a half soccer fields, but may increase or decrease from month to month.

The state says its current stockpile includes 101 million masks, 26 million more than the state's recommended 90-day supply. State pandemic preparedness guidelines.

This includes 88 million N95 masks, more than emergency services agencies said they needed last year. High-performance masks are considered very important to protect against airborne viruses such as coronavirus disease (covid-19).

While the state is ramping up stockpiles, Palmer could not say whether the additional masks are related to concerns about bird flu, saying planners are always “keeping pace with the current risk environment.” ” He said only that he was working on it.

Palmer said the state's goal is to secure an “initial supply to give us time to secure resources in an emergency” either through the federal government or through additional purchases.

Recent cases of bird flu in California have shown no signs of human-to-human transmission, and health officials say the risk to the public remains low. Infection of humans with avian influenza is one such example. some worst case scenarios On the possibility of new pandemics and the resurgence of mutated coronaviruses. mpox, Marburg virus, or the international spread of Ebola. Or an entirely new virus for which there is no immunity or vaccine initially.

However, health authorities across the country I had a hard time tracking Transmission of avian influenza. And California has a history of ups and downs when it comes to preparedness.

Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered an increase California's pandemic preparedness increased in 2006 in response to previous threats from avian influenza. This included three mobile hospitals that could be immediately dispatched in the event of a disaster.

Democratic Governor Jerry Brown program finished Due to the state's financial collapse in 2011. By the time of the coronavirus outbreak, the state had released 21 million N95 masks, some of which were much older. Expiration date has passed date.

Currently, hospitals are required to maintain their own three-month stockpile of masks, gowns, and other personal protective equipment. State Law It was passed in 2020. california Aerosol infectious disease standards It also independently requires hospitals and other high-risk workplaces to follow precautions such as using negative-pressure isolation rooms and the highest level of protective equipment until more is known about the new pathogen. .

“It is difficult to overstate the level of unpreparedness shown by hospitals in California and beyond in responding to the 2020 coronavirus outbreak,” according to the legislative analysis. “Harrowing footage of nurses walking through hospital hallways wearing makeshift masks and garbage bags has become commonplace.”

California Hospital Association spokeswoman Jean Emerson Shea said hospitals “continue to prepare to respond to all types of disasters, including outbreaks of contagious viruses.”

Additionally, Palmer said California has five mobile hospitals acquired from the federal government. I don't use it much In the midst of a pandemic. She said the pulse oximeter requires maintenance, including making sure it has a working battery.

But again, with the current budget deficit, the country is trying to find balance.

Lawmakers rejected most of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's claims, but Proposed reduction of $300 million The state cut funding for the public health fund stockpile of personal protective equipment by one-third a year ago after determining no additional coronavirus-related purchases were needed, according to the Treasury Department. California this year eliminated funding for eight 53-foot-long trailers that moved stockpiles between warehouses. It also plans to cut nearly $40 million over the next four years from the $175 million disaster reserve budget.

The country was not prepared enough Californians grapple with the pandemicgathered more than 1 million signatures to put the ballot measure before voters in November. countermeasure It would have increased taxes on people making more than $5 million and used that money to prevent and respond to the pandemic.

but That effort fell apart This comes after one of its main financial backers, former crypto executive Sam Bankman Freed, was found guilty of defrauding customers and investors. Instead of initiative supporters withdrawing the bill; State officials agreed. Created to expand the scope of the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine. in 2015 Focus on developing new drugs and treatments, including technologies to prevent new pandemics.

“By harnessing the power of precision medicine, California is moving to the forefront of pandemic preparedness and prevention,” Newsom said at the time.

Roger Butler, a spokesman for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said it's unclear whether the precision medicine initiative will receive additional funding.

This article was created by KFF Health Newspublish california healthlinean editorially independent service. california healthcare foundation.