States Show Improvements but Remain Unprepared for Public-Health Emergencies

December 27, 2012
by Alexandra Sifferlin
TIME Magazine

 

An analysis of public-health resources shows that states can do more to prepare for potential disease outbreaks and natural disasters.

The Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 and the anthrax attacks soon after spurred a renewed commitment to enhance public-health services to respond to potential threats such as bioterrorism events and natural disasters that can trigger disease outbreaks. Government health officials continue to stock the Strategic National Stockpile with antibiotics and vaccines to supply public-health labs, but a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America’s Health shows continued gaps in emergency responsiveness among states.

 

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