http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/05/bird_flu_media.html Click link for full story USA, May.23 (Consumer Affairs): A new report finds that journalists covering public health issues see a government and society that is "thoroughly unprepared" for a pandemic flu outbreak. Public health journalists in the study view the threat of a pandemic as highly serious. They believe a pandemic could lead to potential "societal breakdown," "chaos," and "panic." And, the vast majority of respondents judge the nation's response to pandemic flu to be either insufficient, misdirected, or both. Peter D. Hart Research Associates wrote the report, which is based on 20 one-on-one telephone interviews conducted from March 3 to 29, 2006, with leading health journalists, representing national and regional media from print and broadcast organizations. The report was released by the non-profit, non-partisan Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University. Journalists in the study recognize the federal government has taken positive steps to prepare for a pandemic flu outbreak, particularly toward investing in vaccine research, but overall, they criticize the "generalities" that they view permeate preparedness planning, citing such areas of weakness as unclear government leadership and poor communication with the business community and the public on how to maintain day-to-day life during a pandemic.
