Each year since 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - the lead national public health agency in the United States - updates their recommendations on preparing for a zombie apocalypse.
The CDC blog Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse "You may laugh now, but when it happens you’ll be happy you read this, and hey, maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about how to prepare for a real emergency."
The CDC suggests preparing for zombie infestations like we would any natural disaster, like earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, or tornadoes, starting with an emergency kit or bag packed with essentials like water, food, medication, hygiene and sanitation supplies, tools, extra clothes and bedding, first aid supplies and important documents. Next, the CDC recommends forming a family emergency plan that would include agreed-upon meeting places should zombies arrive in our neighborhoods.
If zombies did start roaming the streets, CDC would conduct an investigation much like any other disease outbreak. CDC would provide technical assistance to cities, states, or international partners dealing with a zombie infestation. This assistance might include consultation, lab testing and analysis, patient management and care, tracking of contacts, and infection control (including isolation and quarantine).
This year, the CDC also provides lesson plans for school teachers to utilize when educating middle-school aged students (and older) about zombie pandemics. While the CDC admits the scenario is fictitious, the recommendations they provide in the lesson plans are useful for teaching real and helpful emergency preparedness skills. Their emergency kit checklists included in the lesson plans are applicable for "all hazards."
Interested in joining the CDC's Zombie Task Force? Yep, their's a shirt for that too.
Comment below on what you would do if this video from the CDC suddenly hit your television or smartphone screen: