I can't see any reason why this official 2006 US government directive, on what level of federal help American towns and cities can expect during an influenza pandemic, would have changed in the meantime :
"Any community that fails to prepare - with the expectation that the federal government can or will offer a lifeline - will be tragically wrong," said Alex Azar, deputy secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, at a meeting of American mayors last week on the threat of an influenza pandemic sweeping across the United States.
Azar said mayors should be prepping for a worst-case scenario, with the 1918 avian influenza outbreak that killed beyond 60 million people worldwide being the worst case.
Using the 1918 'Spanish Flu' outbreak as a model for a modern American influenza pandemic would see an estimated -
* 30% of the population falling ill
* 15% of all Americans needing significant medical attention
* 2% of all Americans dying from pandemic influenza.
Or roughly 6 to 7 million American fatalities.
