For my first blog of the semester, I chose to attend a guest lecture on January 28th titled, “The Challenge of Preparing for the Unexpected with Public Health Emergencies”. I thought that attending this event would be good for me, because I am a public health major, and am interested in absorbing as much information as I can from different aspects and experiences from people. This lecture was given by Dr. Stephen Redd, he holds important titles within the Department of Health and Human Services. He is the Deputy Director for the Public Health Service and Implementation Science. Dr. Redd is also the Director for the Center for Preparedness and Response at the CDC. He is in charge of primarily making sure the public is prepared for any hazards, by having adequate information regarding the issues that come up “unexpectedly”, as well as being ready to respond with resources efficiently. Dr. Redd discussed multiple topics that are of interest to me, those being the H1N1 and Ebola epidemics, and vaccinations.
Throughout the years, Dr. Redd has held his current positions during the time that the United States has been the most vulnerable. He showed us things that were implemented during the Ebola outbreak. Dr. Redd and his staff used John Snow’s idea of spot mapping to identify anyone who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus after it was brought into the United States from Africa. Anyone that posed a threat had been given a pre-paid phone, so that if need be they could easily be tracked. In regards to vaccinations, Dr. Redd mentioned the importance of getting vaccines at the recommended time. If most of the population receives vaccines, then a herd immunity is developed. A herd immunity is important in a community, because there are some people who have negative beliefs on vaccines, whether that be health outcomes, cultural beliefs, or for many other reasons. With most of the population getting vaccines, it makes diseases that are coming about, less likely to affect you.
This event relates back to our class, mostly because of the impact that human populations have on the environment. Just like any topic, a growing population comes with pros and cons. Some pros of a growing population include: a better economy, bigger working class, and more development. Some cons of a growing population include: increased class stratification, which leads to increased poverty, which leads to more diseases. A growing population also means that there is competition for limited resources. Due to class stratification, those that are lower class, oftentimes lack adequate resources, to get the required health implementations like vaccines or even a basic visit to a general doctor.
I was excited to go to this event, because my step-dad who continues to work for NYC Swat team and the Emergency Service Unit, also gets chosen frequently to help with FEMA efforts where needed, after natural disasters. I found the lecture fascinating, because I got to learn about preparedness efforts from a different perspective that I am not used to.
