Maybe it's time to question CDC's guidance...

More from Chris Lindley, Colorado's director of public health emergency preparedness and response:


We can no longer say that this new H1NI influenza strain appears to be mild like the 1957 and 1968 pandemics, which were both similar to seasonal influenza.

At the national level, politicians and the CDC are recommending containment strategies for a new much more deadly influenza strain, along the lines of the 1918 pandemic strain. All of pubic health can either fall in line like sheep, or stand up and issue their own guidance, only suggesting containment strategies we would employ during any seasonal influenza epidemic. If things changed and we saw more severe illness, we could immediately use more aggressive containment strategies. Now is not the time to play the Ace.

1.) The current mixed message will ultimately hurt the creditability of public health at all levels. It is either one or the other. We cannot say it is mild ("relax, everything will be ok"), but you need to act as if this is the 1918 pandemic otherwise you might risk your and our families' lives. If, as we are told at the national level. it is presenting as a new but mild influenza strain, as it appears to be in Colorado, we should apply containment strategies at a similar level. Doing otherwise will later be considered an abuse of our powers, and credibility will be lost. After 7 years of preparedness funding, this would be a poor demonstration of measured improvement. If the epidemiology and surveillance later presents a different picture, we can always increase containment measures.

2.) CDC has just thrown a grenade to the local and state public health and school districts with the release of its updated "School (K-12) and Childcare Facilities Closure Guidance." The latest recommendations encourage the closure of all schools (K-12) and childcare facilities (as well as all feeder schools and childcare facilities in the network or a geographic area) for 14 days, for those schools/facilities with one or more laboratory-confirmed or non-subtypable influenza A cases among students, faculty or staff. To put this simply, as long as there is a confirmed or probable case “in the same area” in a school-aged kid, all surrounding schools (K-12) and childcare facilities are encouraged to close as well, even if they have no cases according to CDC guidance. Come Monday, schools and childcare facilities that don’t meet some aspect of this description might be few and far between.

3.) We now also have a critical shortage of N-95 masks across the country. Being into this less than one week it is clear that everyone, including the medical community, has responded to the media pandemic with the utmost of caution. In many ways that is good; however, it is time now to be honest about how this disease is presenting itself and how measures can and should be in line with what we are seeing. Again, if this is a mild influenza strain like seasonal influenza, our guidance to healthcare providers and the general public around the use of PPE should be just as it is with seasonal flu.

Let's not pull the trigger too soon.