I find it disturbing that they did as they were told instead of taking responsibility for their own safety. It's the same mindset that now has postal workers crying that the government won't test them for anthrax instead of making an appointment to get themselves tested. Scary..
I live here in the DC area and this is what has been happening:
1) It is futile to go in to your doctor and demand to be tested. We have been told over and over again that your doctor/hospital cannot test you for anthrax. You have have a special dispensation to go someplace special (I think the health department), where they can turn you away if they think you are being hysterical. We have been assured many times not even to bother trying to get tested unless we've been showered by white powder from an envelope...or, it seems, if two of our co-workers die from inhalation anthrax because they were told to take two aspirins and call the doctor in the morning.
2) People are being accused of hysteria. Congress was lambasted right and left for closing down over an anthrax scare. We are bombarded on the nightly news for calls not to be silly and ridiculous enough to think we might be vulnerable.
3) We have been assured over and over again that it takes a "large amount" of inhaled spores to make you sick, its not contagious, its been contained, blah blah blah.
I personally feel very helpless. You can't just go ahead and pay for being tested for anthrax out of pocket even if its just to quell your own panic. Its very likely that some HMO doctor is going to roll her eyes and tell me to go home and not be a hypochondriac if I do get sick. And finally, how many postal patrons are going to have to die before they realize that anthrax can get onto untargeted household mail?