Bird Flu Pandemic Plan
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt released an Avian Flu Pandemic Plan today. According to the HHS, the plan is a detailed guide for how the United States's health care system can prepare and respond to a Bird Flu pandemic.
According to Leavitt, "an influenza pandemic would test our nation's health care system as never before, and this plan anticipates the specific problems we will face and recommends solutions to better protect the American people."
There are four major componentsto the plan:
- Intensifying surveillance and collaborating on containment measures -- both international and domestic;
- Stockpiling antivirals and vaccines and working with private industry to increase production
- Creating a seamless network of Federal, state and local preparedness
- Developing the public education and communications efforts to keep the public informed.
President Bush announced a $7.1 billion national strategy to safeguard against the danger of an avian flu pandemic, including $6.7 billion in additional 2006 appropriations for HHS. Approximately $4.7 billion would go toward investments in creating vaccine production capacity and stockpiles, $1.4 billion to stockpile antiviral drugs, and $555 million for surveillance, public health infrastructure, and communications, including $100 million for state and local preparedness.
On Thursday, October 27, HHS announced that the department awarded a $62.5 million contract to Chiron Corporation to manufacture an avian flu vaccine designed to protect against the H5N1 flu virus strain.
“An influenza vaccine effective against the H5N1 virus is our best hope of protecting the American people from a virus for which they have no immunity,” Secretary Leavitt said.
