Dr. Mary Headrick, candidate for the Tennessee Third Congressional seat, called for both immediate action by government to address Ebola and by individual Tennesseans to address influenza.
“Simply put, Ebola is a contagious and lethal disease, and it is costly to treat. It must be contained until it is eradicated, and the way to do this is by quarantine, which involves restricting air travel to and from affected areas.” Dr. Headrick said. “By implementing a quarantine, we constrain the impact and give ourselves time to implement more protections and response teams.”
“Unfortunately, we are seeing the results of drastic government cost-cutting in the name of ‘smaller government’ as well as the results of years of congressional gridlock,” Dr. Headrick noted.
“The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) was working on an Ebola vaccine but had to discontinue that effort because of repeated cost cutting. If that vaccine was available, this entire health crisis might not exist. Cost cutting at the CDC is currently costing us a lot in terms of both dollars spent and lives lost. It is almost criminal that we do not have this vaccine,” Dr. Headrick added.
“Many mistakes that were made might have been avoided if we had a Surgeon General in charge, but we don’t have one and have not had one since July of 2013 because Dr. Vivek Murthy’s nomination got tied up in politics,” Dr. Headrick stated. “The Surgeon General's appointment was blocked by Republicans more concerned with political games than with the national health. President Obama has just appointed Ron Klain to be the ‘Ebola Czar’ and I hope that he will be a good manager. However, if we had a Surgeon General in place, we would already have a good leader with a medical background. We need the Senate to do its job and confirm a Surgeon General,” Dr. Headrick continued.
“Closer to home here in Tennessee, let us not forget about the danger that the flu can present and our own responsibilities. Flu shots are more important this year than ever,” Dr. Headrick warned. “We know that every year in this country lives are lost to the flu. Right now up until early November is the optimum time to get a flu shot because it will take 6 weeks to reach peak effect, and that means that folks will be well protected when they need that protection most – during late December when flu usually peaks and holiday travel spreads flu – and for about three months afterwards. Folks at risk because of other health issues may have had their early flu shot and want to get a January booster.”
“So, the smartest thing that we can all do is to get our flu shots early and prevent as many respiratory illnesses as we can,” Dr. Headrick advised, “both for ourselves and for our kids. Get your shot, and then get to the polls to vote.”