Posted by Matt Spada on Tue, Nov 17, 2009
After the fantastic success of our initial H1N1 PandemicPlanning webinar during September's National Preparedness Month, Agility Recovery will be holding a follow-up tomorrow,November 18th at 2 p.m.To register for this free program, please visit http://bit.ly/26b1ql.
Hosting the webinar will be Colonel WilliamLang (Ret.) M.D (formerly with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security), adistinguished expert on the subject. Everything from the current status of thevirus, to background information, to prevention, to business planning for anoutbreak will be addressed. If you have any questions to submit to Dr. Lang youcan leave a comment on this blog, email us or tweet your question to @AgilityRecovery.We will also be live-tweeting the Webinar at twitter.com/AgilityRecovery.
If you're unable to join us, visit blog.agilityrecovery.com later this week as we will be posting video of the webinar. Depending on demand, we hope to have another Q&A transcript available here as well. Also, feel free to check out the previous H1N1webinar video and H1N1Q&A.
We look forward to you joining us tomorrow. Thank you and have a great day!
- Matt Spada
Agility Recovery Solutions
Agility Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Solutions
blog.agilityrecovery.com
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Posted by Matt Spada on Thu, Oct 29, 2009
As someone who is considered immunosuppressed and high risk,
I was fortunate to qualify for an H1N1
vaccine earlier this week. It hasn't been an out-of-sight-out-of-mind event
for me though, as the medical student who administered the shot executed it in
such an awkward fashion that four days later my arm still bothers me.
Minor soreness aside, I appreciate that I'm one of the lucky
ones. Here's what we know right now - as the H1N1 Swine Flu is rapidly flying
through the United States and Canada, vaccine providers have
been unable to meet demand. After watching both friends and colleagues fight
the infection off, it was clear to me that the vaccine was something I needed
to get a hold of as soon as possible. I should acknowledge that I'm also one of
those people who gets the seasonal flu shot each year, so it's not exactly a
leap of faith for me.
I know there is a lot of fear and uncertainty about vaccines
in general (see
this month's Wired), but this particular scenario to me seems like a no brainer given the
risks and propensity of H1N1 virus to spread. As Col. Dr. William
Lang (formerly of US DHS)
stated in a Q&A
Agility Recovery held in October, "while all vaccinations have a small risk
of adverse effects, the current public health thinking is that the risk of
severe disease in an unvaccinated person is higher than the risk of significant
side effects from the vaccine." (click
here to view that entire recorded H1N1 Preparedness Webinar)
Where I think the true cost becomes overwhelming is when an
illness spreads within an organization or workplace. Especially for small
and medium sized businesses who are less likely to have redundancies in their
staffing, the loss of even a few key people at a critical time could have a catastrophic
effect on the long term viability of a business. Illness can potentially affect
not only you, but those around you - whether it's family, friends, coworkers,
etc. Perhaps a better question is, are vaccines part of the social contract or
are they truly an individual's choice? It's something to think about...
For those curious as to how they can best prepare their
workplace, Agility is holding a followup to
October's H1N1 preparedness webinar on November 18th. I would
strongly encourage everyone to take an hour of their time and listen in - I
know I learned quite a bit last time. Along with tips on prevention, Dr. Lang will
also give an update on the status of the pandemic. It's completely free and something
that should not be missed.
And speaking of "the cost of a shot" - the US government is
picking up the tab on this particular vaccine.
- Matt Spada
Agility Recovery Solutions
Agility Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Solutions
blog.agilityrecovery.com
OurAgility Message Board
Follow us on Twitter here
Posted by Matt Spada on Fri, Sep 18, 2009
Here is the video recap from Agility's National Preparedness Month Webinar on September 16, 2009, titled "Pandemic Planning: How To Prepare Your Business For The Upcoming Flu Season" featuring Guest Speaker: Colonel William Lang (Ret.) M.D.(Former Associate Chief Medical Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security).
Posted by Matt Spada on Mon, Sep 14, 2009
As we all had just become immune to the daily news reports highlighting the
global economic climate, a new headline burst upon the scene earlier this year causing yet another ripple in an already stunned and battle weary business community. At the start of the summer, The “Swine Flu”, or
H1N1 virus was declared a true pandemic, and with that, forced businesses everywhere to take a close look at their level of
disaster preparedness.
Having lived through the 2003
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in
Toronto and experiencing the disruption first-hand, I was all too familiar with the imposing threat. During SARS I witnessed businesses and hospitals quarantine sections of buildings to contain possibly infected individuals. A cough or a sneeze on a subway car would cause fellow passengers to hold their breath or quickly shuffle further upwind. It was not uncommon to see people going about their daily business with their identities half hidden by the face masks that filtered their breathing air. As I thought I had seen the last of such an
Orwellian vision, I now flash forward six years to yet another.
After all the media hype during the spring
H1N1 outbreak, and relatively little impact, many people have become complacent and in some cases even cynical. The perceived threat level has somewhat diminished since the announcement earlier this year, but it does not mean that the risk is negligible. Pandemic fatigue is a real issue. It is important to recognize the potential impact it may have and
how to prepare your family, your community and your business.
Headlines relating to
H1N1 are beginning to resurface so this begs the question,
is MY business prepared? Unfortunately, there are many businesses whose only contingency plan consists of the following rule:
“If you’re sick, don’t come to work”. Unfortunately, this is a rather narrow minded solution that would cripple a business once all its critical resources were sequestered at home.
The good news is that while most disasters are difficult to plan for due to the wide variety of possible interruptions, a flu pandemic has specific elements that can be
prepared for, even if you haven’t had an extended period to plan. Below are just a few points to help your business stay prepared:
- Educate our employees about H1N1 symptoms, basic infection control and the possible business consequences.
- Encourage employees to get H1N1 flu vaccinations when they become available.
- Create, review and/or update your plan
- Ensure your plan includes a way for employees to effectively work from home and that communication remains open within all departments of your business.
This list obviously just skims the surface. It is however a good starting point.
For more detailed information about H1N1 and how to better prepare your business register for Agility’s free webinar Pandemic Planning - How to Prepare Your Business for the Upcoming Flu Season, this coming Wednesday (9/16). Our expert speaker, Colonel William Lang (Ret.), M.D., is the Former Associate Chief Medical Officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and is among the world’s foremost experts in medical contingency planning and public health response to biological incidents, including both pandemic and bio-terrorism events. You will not want to miss this!
In support of National Preparedness Month Agility Recovery Solutions is hosting free webinars throughout the month of September and we have an outstanding lineup of nationally recognized speakers. Visit our site to learn more.
- Jonathan Prasad
Agility Recovery Solutions
Agility Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Solutions
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