16Aug / 2022

#PrepYourHealth with Vaccines

August is National Immunization Month.

Over the years, vaccines have prevented countless cases of disease and saved millions of lives. Vaccines are important to helping people stay healthy and protected from serious and sometimes deadly diseases.

Staying up to date on recommended immunizations can help keep you healthy in response to emergencies, including disease outbreaks and natural disasters.

Immunization Recommendations for Responders

Vaccination is an important step every first responder should take to prepare for a response. Some vaccine-preventable diseases are more common after a disaster.

Being up to date on tetanus and hepatitis B vaccines is important for everyone, including emergency responders.

Tetanus is a potential health threat if you sustain wound injuries. Being up to date on tetanus vaccination is the best tool to prevent infection, along with immediate and good wound care.(1)

Everyone aged less than 60 years are recommended to be up to date on Hepatitis B vaccination. Hepatitis B vaccination is also recommended if you are expected to have exposure to blood or blood-contaminated bodily fluids.(2)

People in certain response jobs and travel situations may be exposed to dangerous or deadly diseases that are uncommon in the U.S. Emergency responders should check Traveler’s Health for current vaccine recommendations before they deploy outside of the country. They may include anthrax, cholera, typhoid, rabies, and yellow fever.

Immunization Recommendations for All Individuals

People need different vaccinations depending on their age, location, job, lifestyle, travel schedule, health conditions, or previous vaccinations.

Everyone needs immunizations to help them prevent getting and spreading serious diseases to their loved ones or others in their community.

Everyone 6 months and older needs the seasonal flu (influenza) vaccine every year. The flu vaccine is especially important for people with chronic health conditions, pregnant women, and older adults.
Every adult should get a Tdap vaccine once if they did not receive it as an adolescent to protect against pertussis (whooping cough). They should get a Td (tetanus, diphtheria) or Tdap booster shot every 10 years. Women should get the Tdap vaccine each time they are pregnant, preferably at 27 through 36 weeks.(3)

CDC recommends COVID-19 primary series vaccines for everyone ages 6 months and older, and COVID-19 boosters for everyone ages 5 years and older, if eligible.(4)

Vaccines help protect you from getting sick or severely ill. Vaccines like those for seasonal flu and COVID-19 are especially important if your emergency action plan is to go to a shelter in an evacuation.

Evacuations for hurricanes and wildfires can force people into emergency shelters, where close quarters, shared spaces, and high-touch surfaces can make it easy for illnesses, including COVID-19 and flu, to spread.

Stay Informed About Staying Up to Date

Immunizations are not just for children. Protection from some childhood vaccines can wear off over time. Adults may also be at risk for vaccine-preventable disease due to age, job, lifestyle, travel, or health conditions.

It’s important that everyone stay up to date on their immunizations so that they are protected when a disaster strikes. You are up to date with when you have received all doses in the primary series of a vaccine and all boosters recommended for you.

Here are three ways you can stay informed of how well you’re staying up to date on recommended vaccines.

Take this quiz to find out what other vaccines may be recommended for you. Talk with your healthcare provider to make sure you get the vaccines that are right for you.
Download or print copies of age-appropriate vaccination schedules to help you stay informed of when you or a loved one is due for a vaccine or booster. Take with you to your next doctor’s appointment.
Ask your doctor, pharmacist, or vaccination provider for a vaccination record form or download one. Keep it with your other important paperwork. Take the form with you to health visits. Ask your vaccination provider to sign and date the form for each vaccine you receive.(5)

Staying up to date can help keep you, your loved ones, and your community safe. Learn more ways to prepare your health for emergencies.

References

Resources

Thanks in advance for your questions and comments on this Public Health Matters post. Please note that CDC does not give personal medical advice. If you are concerned you have a disease or condition, talk to your doctor.

Have a question for CDC? CDC-INFO (http://www.cdc.gov/cdc-info/index.html) offers live agents by phone and email to help you find the latest, reliable, and science-based health information on more than 750 health topics.

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15Jun / 2022

Prep Your Health to Evacuate

A line of vehicles parked along the side of a road at night. A wildfire burns in the distance.

June is a busy time of year for emergency preparedness and response.

June marks the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. It’s also wildfire season.

Hurricanes and wildfires are common causes of evacuations. Both are happening more often and with greater intensity.(1) Annual increases in the number of strong hurricanes and large wildfires likely mean more people will face these threats.

In 2017, more than 8 million people across the country were affected by evacuation orders because of flooding, wildfires, and hurricanes. That includes an estimated 6.8 million residents of Florida who were under evacuation orders in response to Hurricane Irma. It was one of the largest mass evacuations in U.S. history.

Don’t get caught unprepared for an evacuation order. Learn what you can do now to prepare for evacuations and mitigate some of the stress of having to relocate.

Know Your Zone

Different communities plan for evacuations in different ways. It’s important to know the plans and procedures where you live.

Emergency planners in many states and localities subdivide their jurisdictions into numbered or lettered evacuation zones. The City of Ashland, Oregon, for example, is divided into 10 zones. City officials use numbered zones to manage evacuations.(2)

Residents of Ashland are encouraged to know their zone before an evacuation. The city set up an interactive evacuation map where residents can learn their zone by searching their addresses.

Contact your local public safety or emergency management agency to learn how decisions about evacuations are made where you live.

Find the emergency management agency for your state or territory using the free search tool on USA.gov.

Learn the Alerts

It’s as important that you know what to do when you are notified to take protective action, such as evacuating. Ensure you have multiple ways to receive emergency alerts. They might include watching local television, listening to local radio, following trusted sources on social media, and signing up to receive emergency alerts by phone call or text.

Many local governments across the country—primarily in areas at high risk for wildfire—have adopted the Ready. Set. Go! (RSG) program. RSG was developed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs as a way to educate about wildland fire risk, promote wildfire preparedness, and communicate in plain language what to do in the event of a fire.

As the name suggests, there are three steps to RSG.

Ready means be prepared. People are asked to gather emergency supplies, make an emergency action plan, sign up for emergency notifications, and stay informed of local hazards.
Set is a warning to get organized because of significant danger in the area. People under “set” status should prepare to evacuate. They should pack “go kits” and consider relocating—voluntarily—to a safer location.
Go! is the signal to evacuate immediately to a designated shelter or someplace in a safer area. Find out how you can protect yourself and others from COVID-19 when evacuating to a public shelter or the home of friends or family.

How ever your local officials communicate an evacuation, don’t hesitate to leave if given the order. Follow instructions on where to go and how to get there. Your normal route out of your neighborhood may not be the safest during an emergency.

Make An Evacuation Plan

Your emergency care plan is more than a list of names and phone numbers. It’s more accurate to think of it as a user guide for how to stay healthy, informed, and connected during an emergency.

An emergency action plan should include:

phone numbers for your physician, pediatrician, pharmacist, counselor, and veterinarian.
copies of current personal care plans (e.g., an asthma action plan, a food allergy and anaphylaxis care plan, and an emergency care plan for children and youth with special healthcare needs).
a copy of the family reunification plans for your child’s school or daycare.(3)

To help you plan for an evacuation, your emergency action plan might also include a MyEvacuation Plan checklist. This evacuation planning tool guides you through actions you can take to prepare for an evacuation, such as:

creating “go bags” for each member of your household.
getting an emergency refill on your prescription medicines (if eligible and where available).
finding a place where you and your pet can safely stay in an evacuation.
having multiple ways to receive evacuation orders and instructions. You will likely get the order to evacuate from local police, fire, or other local officials on the radio, television, social media, and/or by text alert.

Visit the Prep Your Health website for more tips on how you can plan ahead for emergencies.

Emergency Response Planning

People experience disasters differently. Some are at higher risk of impacts because of their economic status, geography, disability status, etc.

The COVID-19 pandemic and other recent emergencies have brought inequities to the forefront of public health. State and local emergency planners must engage with their communities if they are to understand the conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play and their effects on emergency preparedness and response.

People with lower incomes often live in places that lack the space to shelter in place or financial resources to evacuate.
People with disabilities may be unable to evacuate on their own. The percentage of people living with disabilities is highest in the South.(5) This includes the hurricane-prone states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.
Some people may be unable to evacuate without help and less prepared to stay in their homes in the aftermath of a major disaster.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has planning guides to help emergency planners involve the whole community in preparedness.

Resources

References

Have a question for CDC? CDC-INFO (http://www.cdc.gov/cdc-info/index.html) offers live agents by phone and email to help you find the latest, reliable, and science-based health information on more than 750 health topics.

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10Jan / 2022

Resolve to Get Ready

The New Year is the time many of us make resolutions for the coming year. Sometimes resolutions feel too big and long-drawn-out to accomplish. As a result, our motivation to see them through can peter out before the end of the year.

This year, instead of making one resolution for the year, make 12 micro-resolutions. Focusing on one thing each month can make it easier for you to reach your goal, whether it’s to quit smoking or prepare your health for emergencies.

Here are some example micro-resolutions you can make this year to improve your personal health preparedness.

January

January is Get Organized Month. Get organized by creating a checklist of your personal needs. Being organized can help you stay calm during an emergency. Ways to get organized include using checklists to help you collect emergency supplies and scanning important paperwork.

February

Just 35% of respondents to a recent Healthcare Ready survey said they could list all their prescription details if they had to evacuate their homes without their medicines or medical supplies.(1)

You don’t have to memorize the details of your prescriptions. Instead, make a list of your medicines, including information about your diagnosis, dosage, frequency, and medical supply needs. Make an annual appointment with your doctor to discuss your prescriptions and how you can create an emergency supply of them.

March

National Proofreading Day is observed in March. Organize, check, correct, and protect your important paperwork, such as medical records, insurance (e.g., flood and earthquake) documents, action plans, etc. Examples of common errors found in medical records include

Missing or outdated personal information.
Missing information about a new medication or allergy.
Missing or incorrect information about your health history or the date of your visit.
Mischarges for a test you didn’t have.(2)

April

Practice your emergency action plan with your entire family, including pets. Take the 10-minute evacuation challenge. Set a timer for 10 minutes. In those 10 minutes, see if everyone can:

Put on long pants, a long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt, shoes, and a hat.
Take emergency supplies and other important things to the car.
Find your pets, put them in carriers if they have them, and take them to the car.
Pack the car.
Get in the car and buckle your seatbelt.

May

May is National Wildfire Awareness Month. Create defensible space if you live in an area prone to wildfires. Defensible space is a buffer you create between your home or another structure on your property and the grass, trees, shrubs, or any wildland area around it.

June

The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and ends on November 30. Be prepared to evacuate in case you find yourself in the path of a storm:

Collect emergency supplies and create “go kits” for your family.
Test drive your evacuation route to identify detours, gas stations, emergency departments, urgent cares, veterinarians, etc. along the route.
Learn the difference between a hurricane watch and a hurricane warning.

Learn more ways to prepare for hurricanes and tropical storms.

July

Emergency supplies expire. Check your supplies regularly so you can be sure they’re safe to use when you need them. Remove, throw away or use, and replace any food and water, prescription medications, and supplies every six (6) months.

August

August 15 is National Check the Chip Day. Microchipping your pet(s) is one of the best ways to ensure that you and your pet are reunited if separated during an emergency. Remember to register the microchip with the manufacturer and to keep your contact information up to date.(3)

Also, keep a photo of your pet with your important paperwork to help with identification and as proof of ownership.

September

Get a flu shot. It’s best to be vaccinated before flu begins spreading in your community. September and October are generally good times to be vaccinated against flu. Ideally, everyone should be vaccinated by the end of October. Even if you are not able to get vaccinated until November or later, vaccination is still recommended because flu most commonly peaks in February and significant activity can continue into May.(4)

October

Participate in emergency drills and exercises like the Great ShakeOut earthquake drill for practice and the peace of mind of knowing how to respond to an earthquake. The Great ShakeOut is held annually on October 21. The drill is an opportunity for you to practice how to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” during an earthquake or aftershock.

November

Take action to protect yourself and others from carbon monoxide poisoning and house fires. Change the batteries in your carbon monoxide (CO) detectors and smoke alarms at the beginning and end of Daylight-Saving Time. If you own a generator, know how to operate it safely during a power outage.

December

There are ways to prepare for emergencies that have nothing to do with collecting supplies. Learning practical skills, like CPR and seizure first aid, is also important to your health preparedness. Many practical skills don’t require special certification or formal training to perform, but you do need education. Seek out local volunteer organizations that can help you learn these types of skills.

There are many ways you can improve your emergency preparedness without being overwhelmed. Doing one thing each month can help you be prepared for an emergency that can happen anytime. Make sure how you prepare aligns with your needs and those of your family.

References

Resources

15Sep / 2021

Risk Communication: Plan with the Whole Community

During a disaster, communication becomes especially critical. Language, accessibility, or other barriers can affect many individuals’ ability to receive, understand, and act on emergency information.

The ability of a community to communicate accurate emergency information, alerts, warnings, and notifications saves lives. Timely and effective messages can inform people on actions to stay safe, take shelter, or evacuate.

What is in the messages and who communicates them to the community is an important element of risk communication.

Why It Matters

There is widespread evidence that emergencies disproportionately impact individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

The term “access and functional needs” refers to individuals with and without disabilities, who may need additional assistance because of any temporary or permanent condition. That condition may limit their ability to act in an emergency. Individuals with access and functional needs do not require any kind of diagnosis or specific evaluation. These may include but are not limited to

individuals with disabilities,
individuals with limited English proficiency,
individuals with limited access to transportation,
individuals with limited access to financial resources,
older adults, and
others deemed “at risk” by the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPAIA) or the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

FEMA’s whole community approach promotes community participation in emergency planning, response, recovery, and mitigation activities. Integrating community partners into the emergency planning process can help planners better understand and address the needs of the community. These stakeholders should be included in the development of risk communication messages to ensure they are accessible, understandable, and actionable.

Emergency Planning Can Save Lives

During widespread evacuations, transportation systems may be overwhelmed. Understanding the transportation needs of the whole community ahead of an incident will help identify key partners and prioritize communication. Community partners can help widely disseminate messaging to the populations they serve on actions for how to stay safe.

Parents drop off their kids at schools every day assuming they will come home within roughly 8 hours. Yet, in 2014, many Atlanta parents experienced a disaster they never would have predicted.

Icy conditions created by a winter storm paralyzed traffic just as schools were closing. Thousands of children were stranded at schools and on buses. Some children were rescued by firefighters and the National Guard after many cold and hungry hours on buses.

More than 2,000 children spent the night at schools across the metro area.

Some parents spent hours behind the wheel trying to get to their children. Others walked miles through the snow to reunite with children.

Research indicates that over one-third of American households with children are not familiar with their school’s emergency plans. Even more do not know where schools would evacuate their children to during a disaster.

Emergency action plans help everyone know what to do, who to call, and where to reunite in a disaster.

A new CDC resource for emergency planning

CDC developed a toolkit to help emergency planners, such as those for school districts, develop communication plans that consider the needs of people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

The Access and Functional Needs Toolkit is organized in two sections. Section 1 provides examples of groups who may be at greater risk or disproportionately affected in an emergency. This section includes noteworthy practices, key considerations, tips, and resources for effective communication with these groups.

A second section outlines a process and recommended action steps to integrate a network of community partners into risk communication strategies. It provides customizable tools and instructions, templates, worksheets, and noteworthy partner engagement practices. The resources can help create documentation to institutionalize partner engagement practices and identify areas for improvement.

Government agencies and community organizations can use the toolkit’s worksheets and templates to guide their emergency plans and communication strategies.

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17Feb / 2021

Threats Unseen: Beware of Norovirus During an Emergency

Woman clutches her stomach as if feeling nauseous

Natural disasters are unpredictable. Often, we don’t know when or where they will happen or if we will have to leave our homes because of them. Evacuations for hurricanes and wildfires can force people into emergency shelters, where close quarters, shared spaces, and high-touch surfaces can make it easy for norovirus to spread. Graphic that defines norovirus. Text also in body of article.

Norovirus outbreaks occurred in most evacuation shelters in Butte and Glenn counties, Calif., during the Camp Fire in November 2018. Public-health officials identified 292 people ill with acute gastroenteritis caused by norovirus.(1)

A norovirus outbreak among evacuees from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was also reported in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. That outbreak might have affected approximately 1,000 evacuees and relief workers.(2)

What is Norovirus?

Norovirus is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Most “stomach bugs” are likely norovirus infections because it’s a relatively common virus. Anyone can catch norovirus from direct contact with an infected person, touching a contaminated surface, or eating contaminated food. It only takes a very small amount of virus particles to make
you sick. The number of particles that could fit on the head of a pin is enough to infect more than 1,000 people.

A person infected with norovirus usually starts to feel ill 12 to 48 hours after they’ve been exposed. The most common symptoms of norovirus infection are diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and stomach pain. But it can cause fever, headache, and body aches, too.

Be Prepared

Follow the guidance of local officials when going to an emergency shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic. They will tell you when and where to take shelter and what to bring with you.

Act now to prepare “go kits” for family members. Include everyday personal items you cannot do without and other personal protective supplies, such as hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, bar or liquid soap, disinfectant wipes and spray, and at least two masks per person age 2 or older in your household.

If your Emergency Action Plan is to go to a shelter in an evacuation, your kit might also include plenty of nonperishable food, mess kits (e.g., reusable cups, plates, bowls utensils). Also, pack paper towels and disposable plastic gloves to clean up after a sick family member. If you are cleaning up after someone vomits or has diarrhea, use a bleach-based cleaner to prevent the spread of norovirus.

Wash Your Hands

Clean hands are essential to health, whether in an emergency or day-to-day life. Handwashing can keep you healthy and prevent the spread of respiratory and diarrheal infections, like norovirus, from one person to the next. Unseen woman washing her hands with soap in a sink.

Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water especially after using the toilet or changing diapers; always before eating, preparing, or handling food; and before giving yourself or someone else medicine. Here’s how:

Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold) and apply soap.
Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
Rinse your hands well under the water.
Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

You can use alcohol-based hand sanitizers in addition to hand washing. But you should not use hand sanitizer as a substitute for washing your hands with soap and water. Hand sanitizers aren’t as effective at removing norovirus particles as washing hands with soap and water.

If you start to feel sick, continue to wash your hands often with soap and water and try to avoid direct contact with others. You should not prepare food for others or provide health care while you are sick, and for at least 2 days after symptoms stop.

Learn More

CDC and state and local health departments help to raise awareness among healthcare providers and the public about norovirus and how to prevent it. Learn more about how they work to prevent and stop norovirus outbreaks.

For more suggestions on how to prepare your health for emergencies, visit https://www.cdc.gov/prepyourhealth/.

Resources

References

Thanks in advance for your questions and comments on this Public Health Matters post. Please note that the CDC does not give personal medical advice. If you are concerned you have a disease or condition, talk to your doctor.

23Dec / 2020

3 Reasons to Phone a Friend Today

Young women video chat with each other.

December 28 is National Call a Friend Day

Many people would rather send a text than make a call and it shows.

Americans spend, on average, five more minutes per day texting (26 minutes) versus calling (21 minutes), by some estimates.(1) Among Americans younger than 50, sending and receiving text messages is the most used method of communication, according to a 2014 Gallup poll.(2)

While we can all admit that texting is an easy way to connect with friends and family, that doesn’t mean it’s always the best way. Here are 3 reasons why you shouldn’t “phone it in” on National Call a Friend Day.

1. You need an Out-of-Town Contact

Seize National Call a Friend Day as an opportunity to ask a friend to be your family’s Out-of-Town Contact during an emergency.

Peace of mind (the kind earned through pre-planning) can help you stay calm in an emergency. If you and your family are separated during or by a sudden disaster, you will want to know where your loved ones are and if they’re okay and vice versa. An Out-of-Town Contact is someone who lives outside of the immediate area—preferably in another state—that can help family members stay connected when it is easier to make a long-distance phone call than a local one.

Include the name and contact information, including social media handles, of your Out-of-Town Contact in your family’s Emergency Action Plan. It’s important that you also write down contact information for your physician, pediatrician, pharmacist, caregiver, veterinarian, and others.

2. Conversation is a powerful coping tool

Connecting with friends and family through phone calls and video chats is a means of self-care that can help you and your loved ones feel less alone or isolated in stressful situations, like the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s holiday season may be a difficult and stressful time for many. Being away from family and friends during the winter holidays can be hard.

CDC recommends hosting a virtual celebration with friends and family who do not live with you. A virtual meeting might also be a good time to talk about how you and they are feeling. The How Right Now campaign has tips for how to have a meaningful conversation and listen with compassion any time of year.

Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations. If you or a loved one is feeling overwhelmed, get support. The Disaster Distress Helpline provides 24/7 confidential, free emotional support. If you or someone you know needs emotional support, call or text 1-800-985-5990.

3. Talking improves preparedness

A survey taken by FEMA in 2014 showed that talking about preparedness had a “strong positive relationship with preparedness behavior;” but that less than half of respondents had done so in the 2 years leading up to the survey.(3) The researchers concluded that “opportunities for people to discuss preparedness should be enhanced [sic].”

National Call a Friend Day is an opportunity to talk to your family about how to communicate during a disaster, to your child’s school administrator about their family reunification plans, and to your healthcare provider about how to create an emergency supply of essential prescriptions.

Regular conversations like these about matters of preparedness and response can help you plan ahead in ways that can save you time, money, and worry during an emergency.

For more information on how to prepare your health for emergencies, visit https://www.cdc.gov/prepyourhealth/.

Resources

References

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Category Archives: Emergency Action Plan

#PrepYourHealth with Vaccines

Immunization Recommendations for Responders

Immunization Recommendations for All Individuals

Stay Informed About Staying Up to Date

References

Resources

Prep Your Health to Evacuate

Know Your Zone

Learn the Alerts

Make An Evacuation Plan

Emergency Response Planning

Resources

References

Resolve to Get Ready

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

References

Resources

Risk Communication: Plan with the Whole Community

Why It Matters

Emergency Planning Can Save Lives

A new CDC resource for emergency planning

Threats Unseen: Beware of Norovirus During an Emergency

What is Norovirus?

Be Prepared

Wash Your Hands

Learn More

Resources

References

3 Reasons to Phone a Friend Today

1. You need an Out-of-Town Contact

2. Conversation is a powerful coping tool

3. Talking improves preparedness

Resources

References

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