Gov't health care preview

[Little Bill]

Ought to be first come, first served.

CDC to debate who gets ventilators for swine flu

The Centers for Disease Control has scheduled a meeting later this month to debate the sensitive issue of who should be given access to ventilators if the swine flu pandemic worsens.

A notice set to publish in the Federal Register later this week says the issue will be debated in an hourlong teleconference to be held by a CDC ethics advisory panel on Nov. 23.

"Ethical guidance for ventilator distribution during a severe pandemic" is the stated topic for the meeting.

The notice cites the swine flu emergency declared by the Obama administration in April as a basis for dispensing with the usual requirement that word of such meetings be published 15 days in advance.

"There is a critical need for this subcommittee to deliberate and discuss urgent matters related to the H1N1 virus and be actively engaged in the national preparedness and response efforts as dictated by circumstances and events," the notice says.

The CDC did not immediately respond to an inquiry seeking more details about the session.

For those interesting in digging into the subject, here's a Minneapolis Star-Tribune story from earlier this year about ventilator shortage in that area, an Orlando TV station WOFL's take on the stir caused by a triage/worst-case rationing proposal in Florida, and a New York Times article from 2006 about ventilator-shortage concerns in the context of the avian influenza outbreak.
Posted by Josh Gerstein 05:56 PM