MJ# 191: Smallpox Stay of Execution, Sharing Health Care EM Plans, Flu Vaccine, Mandate or Not?

First things first, we had a major problem with the Mitigation Journal podcast feed at the end of September. Because of the popularity of the podcast we exceeded our file size and were not able to update iTunes. All that's been corrected now and were back on track. You may notice that a number of old files in the feed have been removed or are no longer accessible via iTunes.

This week on Mitigation Journal edition #191 Matt and I discuss several important topics. First off, we'll talk about smallpox and the need or not to keep smallpox virus housed in laboratories for experiments.  Should smallpox get a stay of execution? This topic is generated quite a stir in the emergency management and public health community. Tune in to hear Matt and I have to say.

Also this week, we'll talk about the need to share emergency plans between healthcare organizations. It's unbelievable to me that hospitals and healthcare organizations would not be sharing their emergency plans. But that seems to be the case. No one organization will be able to manage a large-scale public health crisis or natural disaster without integrating their emergency management plans with other healthcare organizations and hospitals. In this segment, Matt and I overview why healthcare system emergency management planning is so important. We also throw in a little bit of commentary on the topic.

And finally this week, were back to the old debate “should seasonal flu vaccine be mandated”  for healthcare workers? We also dive into another controversy that's brewing and that is; who are we listening to… the CDC or other expert organizations?

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