THOMPSON CALLS FOR MORE PUBLIC INFORMATION ON THE THREAT AND RESPONSE TO H1N1 VIRUS
New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., today faulted the City's response and emergency management of the H1N1 virus currently circulating throughout a number of City schools.
In a letter to Mayor Bloomberg - available at www.comptroller.nyc.gov -, Thompson said the City failed to effectively balance the goal of confronting an evolving public health issue with its responsibility to keep the public informed of the spread of the virus, specifically within City schools.
Thompson said that by deciding to keep schools open while dozens of children contracted the virus, and by not immediately sharing the information with the public, the City "denied parents the ability to make informed decisions about when it would be advisable to keep their children home as a precautionary measure."
Thompson urged the City to take the following steps to better inform the public of the H1N1 virus:
- Release and broadly distribute the detailed protocol being used to determine when a school should be closed, the scientific basis for the selected protocol, and the identity of the individual ultimately responsible for making the closure decision;
- Provide real-time public data reporting of all school absences;
- Issue a plan that details how decisions regarding school closures will be handled in the fall when the virus may resurface; and,
- Identify what additional capacity is being made available at emergency rooms throughout the City, and particularly pediatric emergency rooms in Queens, to address the surge in demand, especially in light of the recent closures of
"The recent death at IS 238 and the decision to keep the school open for three days after a confirmed case of H1N1 -- against the wishes of the school's leadership -- has understandably stirred feelings of doubt about whether your Administration's desire to preserve a sense of normalcy was placed ahead of the safety of the immediate school community," he wrote.
In addition, Thompson questioned why protocols from the City's Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan, created in 2006 in response to the threat of avian flu, were not implemented in this scenario.
"At that time, New Yorkers were assured that they would be kept fully apprised with accurate, up-to-date information. Unfortunately, that has not been the reality thus far," Thompson said. "At this point, the H1N1 virus is mild when compared to the seasonal flu. The City must, however, reassure residents that it is fully prepared should this newest virus return in a more dangerous form. This reassurance can be achieved only through a transparent and well publicized process."
###