Federal and state health officials have taken some criticism for the length of time it has taken to get fulll suppllies of the H1N1 flu vaccine nationally distributed.
The criticism runs this way: If it takes this long to get flu vaccine in circulation, how long will it take health officials to respond to a biological attack or some other terrorist action that affects public health?
State Health Director Margaret Donnelly says the criticism is not entirely fair. She says the distribution of vaccine might not have been as fast as hoped. But she says the production of the vaccine has far exceeded all standards.
She says disaster response plans are in place with doctors and nurses and other volunteers are prepared to answer emergencies. .
Donnelly says the agency is always looking for ways to decreae response times in case of a biolological attack. She says she feels good about the coantinuing practice runs the state does with its federal partners and its continued upgrading of surveillance.
But Donnelly says there might be a weak link—local public health agencies that are financially struggling to afford doing some of their work for the department.
Listen to Bob Priddy’s story :59 mp3 margva
Listen to Margaret Donnelly’s comments 3:57 mp3 margh
