How to Prepare for a Pandemic

Pandemic Preparedness

Pandemics are unpredictable, their timelines can drag on for years, and multiple pandemics can even overlap. Having some basic pandemic preparedness can keep your family healthier and make it easier to react quickly when the outbreak happens.

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Pandemic Facts

Pandemics can spread either viral, parasitic, or bacterial diseases. They just have to cover a lot of ground!

Bubonic Plague was a pandemic trilogy with huge box office numbers:

  • Plague of Justinian (541-549) killed 56% of the global population
  • The Black Death (1346-1353) killed 54% of the global population.
  • Third Plague Pandemic (1855-1960) killed only 15 million people, as it wrapped up after antibiotics were discovered.

Spanish Flu actually started spreading in Kansas and was so deadly, it helped expedite the end of WWI.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is still active. 40 million people have died since 1978.

How to Prepare for a Pandemic

  • Create a pandemic preparedness kit or purchase a prepackaged kit. Either way, make sure to maintain it.
  • Track emerging diseases with trustworthy sources to stay aware of what’s on the horizon.
  • Monitor your family’s immunity levels to gauge your caution. Elderly people and young children are most likely to be affected by pandemics.
  • Avoid misinformation. Take advice from reliable sources like fact-checked journalism and peer-reviewed medical journals.
  • Keep up pandemic-level hand washing forever. Frequently cleaned hands drastically reduce the likelihood of any human-to-human transmission of disease.
  • If you don’t already exercise 150 minutes a week, start now. Exercise can improve your sleep, and better sleep increases your ability to fight infections and heal.
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Who Decides It’s a Pandemic?

Yes, the World Health Organization decides it’s a pandemic.

Six Degrees of Probability

  • WHO estimates pandemic probability for any given disease in six stages.
    • 1 – Uncertain: No new outbreaks among animals
    • 2 – Uncertain: New outbreaks in animals, but not humans
    • 3 – Uncertain: Humans infected by animals, but no human to human transmission yet
    • 4 – Medium to High: Human to human infection is restricted to a small region
    • 5 – High to Certain: Human to human transmission is in multiple regions, but not worldwide
    • 6 – Pandemic in Progress: Human to human transmission is common globally

What’s an Epidemic?

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What Not to Do During a Pandemic

Here are some pandemic tips for you, if you’re better with “DON’Ts” than “DOs”

Don’t Use Antibacterial Soap

Use normal soap! Antibacterial soap helps bacteria develop antibiotic resistance, which makes bacterial pandemics more likely.

Don’t Get Left Behind

Pandemics can change the economic landscape drastically. Diversify your marketable skills to stay competitive when things go pear-shaped.

Don’t Forget Your Go Bag

A pandemic with high virulence and high R0 could cause complete societal breakdown fairly quickly. Don’t get caught without a bug-out option.