opinion, do we have this time?”
HHS looked worried, Beck thought. As well he might.
“In my assessment,” Krewell said, “no, sir, we do not. We’d need at best six months, more likely eight.”
In his peripheral vision, Beck saw the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency nod grimly. Alone among the group, the newly appointed head of FEMA had hands-on experience, in his former post as New York City’s chief preparedness official, in planning for widespread public health emergencies. That experience had earned him his present position: New York City was acknowledged as the place best prepared to deal with critical situations, due in large part to the man’s efforts.
In the months before he had left for his current Washington posting, he had tackled the specter of biological terrorism in America’s largest urban center. He had written plans, devised contingencies, bullied funding for police and healthpersonnel training. And then he had supervised exercises and drills to test how effective all the activity had been.
The news reports, even as sanitized and as spun as they had been, had been more accurate than kind, Beck recalled. It had been woefully apparent how unprepared even all the official’s efforts had left his city.
And that was one city, Beck thought, not the whole damn country.
“This one scares me, people,” FEMA was saying to the group. “Look, even limiting our concerns to the continental United States, this influenza is already here. And that means it’s spreading as we speak.”
“I concur,” HHS said. “Short-term, mass vaccination is not an option. Given that, what is our best immediate course of action?”
“The only course of action is to contain it, at least as much as possible,” Carson said. “We fight a delaying action, while we develop an effective vaccine.”
“The girl in Florida died a week ago.” Krewell spoke up. “Summer is vacation time, and people are traveling. It’s reasonable to assume her death has a direct connection to the Fort Walton cases. I have people trying to draw up a contagion chart right now. I can already tell you, this could turn into a nightmare.”
“Explain,” HHS ordered.
“The first death involved a limousine driver,” Krewell said, “a profession that has extensive contact with people who travel. Who gave it to the driver? Okay, we have determined the girl recently returned from a trip to Japan; if she took a limo home, maybe we’ve identified our Patient Zero—the index case, or at least the first carrier we know about. Who else did she infect? Who did the driver give it to, and did any of them get on a plane and fly somewhere else? Nothing has shown up in the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Record, but, believe it—we have to assume that these are not isolated infections.”
“My God.” The voice belonged to an Asian woman, the assistant director of the National Institutes of Health. “The airports. This could be spreading itself around the world already.” She spoke directly to HHS. “The first step is for the President to declare an emergency. We have to inform the public, let them know what they’re facing and what to look for.”
“I’m inclined to agree,” HHS said. “Of course, we would continue to explore all additional avenues. If the President declares a national health emergency, we can—”
“Start a national panic,” said a man Beck did not recognize. “Two cases! That’s all we have confirmed. Let’s at least wait until we get the input from the CDC team in Florida. And before we start a worldwide panic, we better confer with WHO and the National Institute for Medical Research in England.”
“At last, a reasonable suggestion,” the senator said. “We cannot react blindly, just because—”
A shrill electronic chirp cut through the tense atmosphere and silenced the politician. The source came from next to Beck, and for an instant all eyes looked accusingly at him.
Then Krewell fished the
HHS looked worried, Beck thought. As well he might.
“In my assessment,” Krewell said, “no, sir, we do not. We’d need at best six months, more likely eight.”
In his peripheral vision, Beck saw the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency nod grimly. Alone among the group, the newly appointed head of FEMA had hands-on experience, in his former post as New York City’s chief preparedness official, in planning for widespread public health emergencies. That experience had earned him his present position: New York City was acknowledged as the place best prepared to deal with critical situations, due in large part to the man’s efforts.
In the months before he had left for his current Washington posting, he had tackled the specter of biological terrorism in America’s largest urban center. He had written plans, devised contingencies, bullied funding for police and healthpersonnel training. And then he had supervised exercises and drills to test how effective all the activity had been.
The news reports, even as sanitized and as spun as they had been, had been more accurate than kind, Beck recalled. It had been woefully apparent how unprepared even all the official’s efforts had left his city.
And that was one city, Beck thought, not the whole damn country.
“This one scares me, people,” FEMA was saying to the group. “Look, even limiting our concerns to the continental United States, this influenza is already here. And that means it’s spreading as we speak.”
“I concur,” HHS said. “Short-term, mass vaccination is not an option. Given that, what is our best immediate course of action?”
“The only course of action is to contain it, at least as much as possible,” Carson said. “We fight a delaying action, while we develop an effective vaccine.”
“The girl in Florida died a week ago.” Krewell spoke up. “Summer is vacation time, and people are traveling. It’s reasonable to assume her death has a direct connection to the Fort Walton cases. I have people trying to draw up a contagion chart right now. I can already tell you, this could turn into a nightmare.”
“Explain,” HHS ordered.
“The first death involved a limousine driver,” Krewell said, “a profession that has extensive contact with people who travel. Who gave it to the driver? Okay, we have determined the girl recently returned from a trip to Japan; if she took a limo home, maybe we’ve identified our Patient Zero—the index case, or at least the first carrier we know about. Who else did she infect? Who did the driver give it to, and did any of them get on a plane and fly somewhere else? Nothing has shown up in the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Record, but, believe it—we have to assume that these are not isolated infections.”
“My God.” The voice belonged to an Asian woman, the assistant director of the National Institutes of Health. “The airports. This could be spreading itself around the world already.” She spoke directly to HHS. “The first step is for the President to declare an emergency. We have to inform the public, let them know what they’re facing and what to look for.”
“I’m inclined to agree,” HHS said. “Of course, we would continue to explore all additional avenues. If the President declares a national health emergency, we can—”
“Start a national panic,” said a man Beck did not recognize. “Two cases! That’s all we have confirmed. Let’s at least wait until we get the input from the CDC team in Florida. And before we start a worldwide panic, we better confer with WHO and the National Institute for Medical Research in England.”
“At last, a reasonable suggestion,” the senator said. “We cannot react blindly, just because—”
A shrill electronic chirp cut through the tense atmosphere and silenced the politician. The source came from next to Beck, and for an instant all eyes looked accusingly at him.
Then Krewell fished the
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