If a biological weapon detonates in the Washington region, Maryland will be the least capable of reacting, a report released Tuesday said.
Virginia, however, is one of the most prepared states and the District falls in the middle, said the sixth annual report from Trust for America’s Health, a nonprofit that studies the country’s readiness for public health disasters.
Each state is rated on a list of 10 indicators. Virginia has scored a perfect 10 the last two years. But the District fell from eight to seven and Maryland from eight to five, placing the state among the lowest in the nation.
The indicators change from year to year because information made available by government health agencies is different each year, report officials said. But overall, the results, based on information collected in 2007, show improvement nationwide since the report first came out six years ago.
Maryland Deputy Secretary of Public Health Services Frances Phillips defended the state’s preparations for health disasters, saying there have been several improvements in the last year in areas cited as deficient by the report.
As of 2007, the state had purchased less than 50 percent of anti-viral medications made available through a federally subsidized program, the report said.
In the last year, however, the state health department has worked closely with private entities, such as power companies, to take advantage of the program and make sure workers in key public safety jobs have medication available, Phillips said.
In turn, the private companies have covered some of the cost of the drugs, which has helped prepare the state in tough budget times, she said.
The recession also has the report’s creators concerned about budget gaps.
“The economic crisis could result in a serious rollback of the progress we’ve made,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health. Since 2005, federal funding for state and local preparedness has already been cut by 25 percent, he said.
“The cuts to state budgets in the next few years could lead to a disaster for the nation’s disaster preparedness,” Levi said.
