Posted on 10/16/2008 10:38:15 AM PDT by BGHater
Government mail carriers would deliver emergency supplies of antibiotics to people in U.S. cities in the case of an anthrax attack, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials said on Wednesday.
The system has been tested in three large cities -- Seattle, Philadelphia and Boston -- and a pilot program is set to begin soon in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in Minnesota.
HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said there was no evidence any attack was imminent but that it was important for authorities to have a quick distribution system ready.
The U.S. Postal Service carriers who would bring the antibiotics from door to door all would be volunteers who would have advance supplies of antibiotics to protect themselves and their families, officials said.
Attacks involving anthrax-laced letters in the United States in 2001 killed five people, including two U.S. Postal Service workers from a facility in Washington, D.C., and made 13 sick. Thousands were given antibiotics to prevent disease.
The letter carriers would deliver thousands of doses of doxycycline, an antibiotic that can treat anthrax infection as well as some causes of pneumonia and Lyme disease.
Anthrax infections can affect the skin and gastrointestinal system and are easily treated if caught early. But if spores are inhaled, the symptoms are difficult to diagnose and by the time a patient is really sick, it is often too late to save him with antibiotics.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Sounds like a plan.
I am sure Fedex could do it cheaper! ;)
“Dave’s not here!”
Oh yeah, this is a plan. 4-5 days with first class, but for $3 more, they can deliver in 2-3 days Priority mail.
You’ll get what’s coming to you — the government will see to that!
Seattle Mailman: "Dude, this isn't like healthy for people. Let's deliver granola bars in recycled packaging instead."
Philadelphia Mailman: "Hey man don't use names, you know who this is... I got some new stuff you can sell on the streets for $50 a hit, and I can get it in quantity!... yeah, I'm on the way over now."
Boston Mailman: "It's Sunday. I ain't deliverin' on a Sunday.... Time and a half my a&&, th' game's on."
So we stake our lives on Cliff Clavin?
As Reagan once told us, the scariest words in the English language are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
antibiotics???
What about all this duct tape and plastic sheeting Sec. Ridge had us stock up on?
Are they going to be armed? If not, stupid plan.
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