Open AccessBetter Prepare Than React: Reordering Public Health Priorities 100 Years After the Spanish Flu Epidemic
Author(s) -
Michael Greenberger
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2018.304682
Subject(s) - pandemic , quarantine , economic shortage , public health , outbreak , public health interventions , psychological intervention , environmental health , covid-19 , medicine , virology , nursing , infectious disease (medical specialty) , government (linguistics) , disease , linguistics , philosophy , pathology
This commentary argues that 100 years after the deadly Spanish flu, the public health emergency community's responses to much more limited pandemics and outbreaks demonstrate a critical shortage of personnel and resources. Rather than relying on nonpharmaceutical interventions, such as quarantine, the United States must reorder its health priorities to ensure adequate preparation for a large-scale pandemic.