blog.bioethics.net

Wait a Minute Mister Postman....

First, actual anthrax showed up in letters in a mailroom. Now, DHHS says that the treatment for anthrax is doing to be delivered out of mailrooms directly to your mailbox.

As described by the Washington Post, it was announced by Michael Leavitt that three cities will try a pilot program where mail carriers, escorted by police, will deliver pill bottles with a note. In Philadelphia, where it was already tried, 50 mail carriers reached 53,000 households in one day.

Now, let me see...Philadelphia has almost 2 million households. And why the need to be escorted by police? I doubt the police in any city are necessary to deliver mail in any other time.

During a suspected bioterrorism attack, just guessing here, the police might be needed in other areas other than to escort mail carriers delivering the drug stockpile. This is going to be a real problem if mail carrier's safety is going to be at risk, which in all likelihood it will be.

It's a creative idea--but ultimately, we need a faster, easier dissemination method than walking or driving Cipro around via USPS carriers. And in any case, what is the plan to compensate them? To pay them hazard pay? Offering them enough drug to protect their family is a start, but unlikely to be enough to induce them to continue risking their own exposure day in and day out. Their meritorious acts must be compensated in such a difficult time--even if such a plan is fool-hardy.

The plan is not good enough, sending police out is not a good idea, and giving their families drug is not a good enough form of compensation. Leavitt and his gang better come up with another plan in the even that anthrax hits one of our major cities or heaven forbid, more than one. Otherwise, we'll all be in big trouble.

Summer Johnson, PhD