Recently I was given a unique opportunity to tour the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. During my tour I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Ali Khan, the Director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, as well as the creative team behind their new zombie preparedness outreach program. My experience was as comforting as it was terrifying. The comfort came from seeing how intelligent, organized and proactive the CDC’s efforts are both at home and around the world. The terror came from the revelation that these efforts are now under fire from our own government. In the new political climate of deficit reduction and budget slashing, the CDC has watched its resources shrink by roughly one third. At a time when the global population is exploding, national borders are fading, and the existential threat of disease has never been greater, our first and best line of defense is being dismantled.

With Dave Daigle the Associate Director for Communications in the Directors Conference Room in the Emergency Operation Center.

With Dave Daigle at the Situation Awareness Wall in the Emergency Operations Center.

Dr. Ali Khan, Director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response

With Dave Daigle, James Archer, Mark Connor, Alissa Ekert, Bob Hobbs, and Maggie Silver, the Team behind the zombie graphic novel.