US CITIES AND TOWNS TOLD NOT TO EXPECT FED GOV TO HELP DURING PANDEMIC FLU OUTBREAK

"Any community that fails to prepare - with the expectation that the federal government can or will offer a lifeline - will be tragically wrong," said Alex Azar, deputy secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, at a meeting of American mayors last week on the threat of an influenza pandemic sweeping across the United States.

Azar said mayors should be prepping for a worst-case scenario, with the 1918 avian influenza outbreak that killed beyond 60 million people worldwide being the worst case.

Using the 1918 outbreak as a model would mean an estimated 30% of the population falling ill, 15% of all Americans needing significant medical attention, with 2% of all Americans dying from pandemic influenza.

Or roughly 6 to 7 million Americans.

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