The annual study by Trust for America's Health, released Tuesday, found that the first line of defense against pandemic flu or bio-terror attack remains inadequate five years after the 9/11 and anthrax attacks of 2001.
According to USA Today, the study, which ranked the 50 states and Washington, D.C., on a 10-point system, highlighted the need for the government to provide health care quickly when thousands of people are in need.
Researchers considered 10 factors such as whether each state is capable of distributing drugs and antidotes from a national stockpile or it is capable of enough hospital beds and nurses to handle a patient surge.
It also assessed whether states have enough labs and scientists to test for biological threats and other outbreaks.
According to Jeff Levi, director of the trust, "The nation is nowhere near as prepared as we should be for bio-terrorism, bird flu and other health disasters."
He continues, "We continue to make progress each year, but it is limited. As a whole, Americans face unnecessary and unacceptable levels of risk."
According to the survey, Oklahoma was found to be the most equipped and the only state that satisfied all 10 measures. However, California, Iowa, Maryland and New Jersey scored lowest with four points.
