What can the average citizen do to get prepared for a flu pandemic?
First of all, educate yourself by talking with your personal doctor and by reading from this website or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov. Educate your family. People can also start practicing simple but important preventive actions, such as hand-washing, covering your mouth with a tissue when you cough, and staying home from school or work if you’re sick. • If I get the pandemic flu, is there a medicine to take? Antiviral drugs may help prevent infection in people at risk and lessen the impact of symptoms in those infected with influenza. It is unlikely that they would substantially modify the course or effectively contain the spread of an influenza pandemic. • Does Maryland have a stockpile of antiviral drugs? The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a supply of antiviral medications to share with Maryland and the other states. In a pandemic, even if existing antiviral drugs are effective on the new strain, demand for antiviral drugs
