The ACLU, Pandemic Preparedness, and You

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/1/20/84731/7459/727/439636


Background

Flu pandemics are different than other disasters because they are extensive (they happen everywhere), significant (a quarter of the population might be affected, with a third of the population unable to report for work because of illness or health care obligations for dependents and others) and require careful planning to help prevent spread of disease as well as to mitigate the disruption a pandemic would bring to our worldwide just-in-time economic system. One aspect of this planning includes the use, and consideration of, isolation and quarantine at the beginning of a pandemic outbreak, when containment is still theoretically feasible (although many experts doubt if containment is indeed ever feasible). From