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New York Times (www.nytimes.com)
(08/28/02) P. A12; Altman, Lawrence K.
In response to criticism about its lack of
preparedness for last fall's anthrax attacks, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention announced Tuesday that it has taken definitive steps in the past
year to prepare for a bioterrorist attack. New laboratories have been added,
bringing its total amount nationwide to more than 200--including one in each
state--each capable of analyzing blood, urine, spinal fluid, and other specimens
for potentially lethal agents. The CDC is monitoring emergency rooms across the
country and is especially busy now tracking the progression of the West Nile
virus, using the epidemic to test its ability to react to outbreaks quickly.
Antibiotics and vaccines for certain diseases have been stockpiled, and the
agency is training health care professionals how to diagnose and respond to
specific ailments.
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"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
-- Albert Einstein, letter to a friend, 1901
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820
"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"
-- Sandy Gottstein
"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"