Zombie Research Society
It’s widely believed that when the inevitable zombie pandemic arrives there will be no vaccine or medical treatment available to prevent infection. This idea quickly leads to wild speculation about how individuals and governments will react in the face of such a fast-spreading undead threat. However, there are already a clear set of guidelines for dealing with similar scenarios created by organizations like the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Non-Pharmaceutical Intervention (NPI) is the term experts use for public health strategies of this type. From mandatory social distancing to quarantine of exposed population; aggressive NPI procedures have been used often throughout the 20th century, perhaps starting with the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918 that killed an estimated 100 million people worldwide.
For example; the Texas Department of State Health Services offers an example of the types of measure that will likely be employed:
- Isolation of the ill at home
- Quarantine of household members in homes with an ill person
- Dismissal of students from all schools
- Mandatory stoppage of social and public gatherings
- Cancellation of non-essential work responsibilities
- Relocation of populations to less dense areas
Though many of these steps may have little or no impact on the spread of zombiism, it’s still important to understand exactly what reaction your local, state, and federal authorities will have to the pandemic. If not; you run the risk of being escorted from your home by armed soldiers without any time to hide, hunker down, or even collect your survival essentials.
Any survival plan should take into account not only the human threat from violent criminals, but also from the wrong and hasty actions taken by the very individuals charged with our protection. Either way, you need to be prepared long before you hear a knock on your door!