Is anyone but me worried enough to be planning for the flu pandemic? This
is what really scares me, because the likelihood that it's going to happen
some time while DS is a child at home seems much higher than for any other
disaster to affect us.

There doesn't seem to be a great deal that one can plan for, but I am
trying to be in the habit of having a big enough stock of food that if we
didn't want to be in contact with other people for a few weeks, we wouldn't
starve; and DH and I have discussed under what circumstances we'd keep DS
home from nursery and refuse to go to work and be in contact with other
people. (Not as drastic as it might seem, since we work in a university,
and we reckon that asking universities to stop face-to-face teaching would
be one of the first steps government would take in the event of a pandemic.
Our research, and some teaching, can be done from home, though having to
look after DS would have an impact if the pandemic arrives any time soon!)
I have wondered whether we ought to get some kind of basic face mask to
allow us to go out while cutting the risk of droplet or hand-to-face
infection; DH and I could cope with simply staying inside for a few weeks,
but I don't think DS could!

Sidheag
DS Colin Oct 27 2003