The pandemic is no longer theoretical.. From theory to reality, the 1st wave of a World pandemic
One of the Reveres at Effect Measure who has a vast expertise, a profound knowledge of pandemics and a long time Prof at the highest level tell us with Wisdom;
Now that a real life influenza pandemic has arrived, the concern of some is that the public isn't being told how bad this could become, possibly even 1918 level. My view is different. In terms of stimulating genuine pandemic preparedness, I think we are extremely lucky to have a pandemic that so far is nowhere near worst case scenario (and let's be clear: it isn't anywhere near worst case). The pandemic is no longer theoretical. It is here and tangible.
Today he warn us that this pandemic And it is having some tangible effects in unlikely places, like hedge funds. Hedge funds.
Via (Melanie Rodier, of Wall Street and Technolgy)
she cited Bob Guilbert, managing director of marketing and products at Eze Castle Integration;
Although talk of the swine flu has largely been out of the media for the past few weeks, a rush of new cases of the H1N1 virus is expected to hit financial centers in the fall and winter " and organizations, and in particular hedge funds, need to be well prepared for a pandemic.
Bob Guilbert, managing director of marketing and products at Eze Castle Integration (booth 1804), which provides outsourced IT technology and services for hedge funds, says his firm has been taking a proactive approach to the pandemic.
"We've drafted our own response plan which we've issued to all our employees. The plan takes a look at if they're ill, how to get checked out; if they travel to countries with the virus, what procedures they should follow. And if the company is in a situation of a pandemic, it maps out procedures for working remotely, etc," he says.
[snip]
Hedge funds in particular must make sure they have a solid plan in place, he adds, since they must conduct business during trading hours. They need to assess how they are going to stay operational if the virus sidelines their employees.
"We told them to think of a disaster recovery plan to make sure they can stay active. We have given them procedures on how to gain remote access to their working environment," he said.
To avoid the spread of the virus, recommendations include having employees who are sick stay home for at least 7 days. They should then obtain a doctor's note that they are clear.
In the case of a pandemic, firms should hold meetings by conference call where possible, and ensure that all employees have remote access to their work environment.
The hedge fund industry in general is keeping a wary eye on the pandemic, Guilbert says.
Now here's what Revere had to say Here
The fact is it is a lot easier to envision the consequences of a quarter or a third of your employees being out sick than to contemplate and accept as a reason to plan that there will be a total collapse of critical infrastructure. And it is a lot more likely, too.
Even in 1918, critical infrastructure didn't collapse. Piped water still ran, gas and electricity still flowed, there was still food in the markets. My mother was a teenager in 1918. Neither she nor any member of her generation ever mentioned those years to me. I myself have lived through two pandemics (1957 and 1968), each of which killed a great number of people. During one I was a teenager and the other already a doctor. I was aware of both, but only peripherally. They were public health catastrophes compared to most outbreaks, but they made little impact on most people. Having an easily visualizable problem, like absenteeism, is much more motivating than any apocalyptic vision of societal breakdown.
If this pandemic virus is like the moderately severe one of the 1957 pandemic it will have more of an impact, of course. First, we are a more tightly interconnected world. Things happen faster and on a broader scale than in earlier times. Second, we find out about them faster and on a broader scale than before. Earlier pandemics were well underway before they were recognized. Now we can know about one as it's starting but not know where it's going. This uncertainty can generate (appropriate) anxiety which can cause its own problems. Third, the US health care system is much more brittle than in 1957 and cannot absorb the shock of even a moderate increase in demand. It will break down and people will fall through the cracks.
We need to take it very seriously but we should welcome the lack of high public anxiety. As WHO's Director General noted, we are being given a grace period during which many important things can get done with a clear head. Hedge funds aren't unusually prescient (as the current financial debacle shows too plainly). They are just an example of what I am guessing is going on in many venues.
Margaret Chan Director of the WHO reminded usGreater equity in health should be a progress indicator.
The pressures of a pandemic, on top of the rise in chronic diseases, could alone cripple fragile health services.
On present evidence, the main risk factors for severe or fatal H1N1 infection are two-fold: pregnancy, and underlying medical conditions, like asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.
To make my point, I need just two figures: 99% of maternal mortality, and 85% of the burden of chronic diseases are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries.
I firmly believe that this pandemic will reveal, in a highly visible, measurable, and tragic way, exactly what it means, in life-and-death terms, when health needs and health systems have been neglected, for decades, in large parts of the world.
We will see, in extremely tragic ways, the consequences of our long-standing failure to ensure basic care during pregnancy and childbirth.
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