The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), caught the attention of netizens, who updated the page section called Zombi Readiness.
The infographic contains information aimed at teachers, scout leaders, and public health officials, listing all the necessary precautions for those who need to deal with a circumstance in which the dead come back to life.
When asked about the unusual update on their website, health experts related that something which started as a joke “proved to be a very effective platform. We continue to reach and engage a wide variety of audiences in preparing for all dangers via ‘preparation for zombies’.”
Although the content of the manual is from 2011, and is in a sarcastic section of the website, the big question is: why the update, right in the middle of a pandemic?
The infographic titles “Zombie Survival Gear” offers advice and lesson plans for teachers. A downloadable poster encouraged you to “Get A Kit. Make A Plan. Be Prepared.” It all starts with an essay in the form of a report for a government agency with the theme “a zombie apocalypse is imminent”.
Students are challenged to do research on a real catastrophes, such as Hurricane Katrina or the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Finally, in “Emergency Response Council for the City of Calamity”, students role-play, one as mayor, another as chief of police, director of public health, and so on.
It is during this kind of role-playing game that students are informed about a zombie outbreak in the city, in which the undead move slowly to the central region. Students have limited time to develop a community plan, answering questions like: where should citizens go? What should they do? What about people with disabilities? How to communicate the incident to people of other languages?
In an interview with Yahoo, experts spoke out about the CDC’s zombie initiative. The disaster preparedness instructor at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cheryl Nelson, said that “the more creative ways we can convey the preparedness message, the better”.
Rutgers professor, Lee Clarke, explains that while a zombie readiness may seem like a joke at first glance, all the useful instructions are there: just replace “’zombie’ with ‘flood’ or ‘hurricane’”. “zombies are just more interesting and get people’s attention.”
Perhaps the current pandemic would have been easier if a zombie kit was already available, with a lot of gel alcohol, baby wipes, masks and toilet paper, she says.
