Public Health Department Head Defends 6-Day Wait Before Announcing Legionnaires’ Outbreak At Quincy Vets’ Home

Public Health Department Head Defends 6-Day Wait Before Announcing Legionnaires’ Outbreak At Quincy Vets’ Home

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The head of Illinois’ public health department is defending his decision to wait six days before announcing the 2015 epidemic of Legionnaires’ disease at a veterans home in Quincy. WBEZ obtained an email from Director Nirav Shah saying his agency waited six days before notifying the public the situation was the beginning of an epidemic. Friday, Shah explained why. He said it’s difficult to correct information once it’s public if the agency gets something wrong in the early days of an epidemic. But some of the families suing the state for neglect say they weren’t told of the outbreak in time for their loved ones.