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US President releases long-awaited preparedness plan
World Report
US President releases long-awaited preparedness plan President Bush’s national pandemic preparedness plan promises $7 billion in extra funding, mostly to boost vaccine-production capacity. But critics say although the plan is a welcome first step, a strong public-health system will be key to an effective disease response. Nellie Bristol reports.
www.thelancet.com Vol 366 November 12, 2005
preparedness, but says worldwide disease surveillance and containment is the first line of defence. The plan devotes $251 million to these efforts. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt told a House of Representatives subcommittee on Nov 2 that he hopes to “have people from the United States on the ground” in areas of high disease activity. Under the US plan, the Federal Government would take the lead in facilitating domestic production of vaccines, antivirals, diagnostics, and personal protective equipment. In addition, it would advance science as necessary and stockpile and coordinate distribution of countermeasures. States and localities would ensure that measures are in place to contain an outbreak, establish comprehensive preparedness and response plans, and integrate nonhealth entities into the effort, including law enforcement, utilities, city services, and political leaders. The plan sets aside $644 million to enhance state and local preparedness. Bush’s strategy is a broad overview of pandemic response. Later, HHS released a 396-page blueprint that delineates the doctrine and planning assumptions for the US public health and medical response. The HHS plan assumes a clinical disease attack rate of 30% in the overall population, with the highest rate, about 40%, among school-aged children. Under the most dire scenario, where the disease acts like the 1918 pandemic, 9·9 million people would require hospitalisation, 1·5 million would need intensive care, and 1·9 million would die of influenza and related infections. Calling the President’s plan a “long awaited first step”, Senator Edward Kennedy urged further funding for
Rights were not granted to include this image in electronic media. Please refer to the printed journal
AP
US vaccine-production capabilities will receive the bulk of US$7·1 billion in new funding outlined in President George W Bush’s National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, released last week. The plan calls for $1·5 billion to produce vaccines using current methods and $2·8 billion to fasttrack development of cell-culture technology. “By bringing cell-culture technology from the research laboratory into the production line, we should be able to produce enough vaccine for every American within 6 months of the start of a pandemic”, Bush said in a Nov 1 speech at the National Institutes of Health just outside Washington, DC. However, even with the additional funding, which is now being considered by Congress, Administration officials concede that it will be 4–5 years before the US could even begin to meet the plan’s vaccine production goals. With only one domestic vaccine manufacturer, the US has struggled in the last several years to keep up supply for routine immunisations, including seasonal influenza. The Administration is offering regulatory streamlining, funding, and liability exemptions to encourage domestic production. In other pandemic preparations, the President is requesting $1 billion to purchase doses of antiviral drugs. The plan would provide $800 million for research into more effective medications and therapies. While saying the US has been given “fair warning of this danger to our homeland”, Bush stressed that panic was unnecessary. “At this point, we do not have evidence that a pandemic is imminent”, he said. The Administration deems vaccine development to be the foundation of
public-health infrastructure expansions. “We need to strengthen the capacity of hospitals and health care facilities to respond and react to a pandemic”, he said. “Stockpiles alone aren’t enough without the capacity to make use of them.” Public health professor Ruth Berkelman of Emory University also said the US public-health system has a “long way to go” before it is prepared, but she called the Bush plan “well reasoned” and said it addresses some fundamental problems. However, Martin Blaser, president of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), said in a statement that ”significant issues remain to be resolved”. He added that while IDSA applauded President Bush for outlining an aggressive domestic and international approach, additional investment in state and local preparedness, surge capacity, and risk communication is still needed.
Nellie Bristol 1683
US President releases long-awaited preparedness plan President Bush’s national pandemic preparedness plan promises $7 billion in extra funding, mostly to boost vaccine-production capacity. But critics say although the plan is a welcome first step, a strong public-health system will be key to an effective disease response. Nellie Bristol reports.
www.thelancet.com Vol 366 November 12, 2005
preparedness, but says worldwide disease surveillance and containment is the first line of defence. The plan devotes $251 million to these efforts. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt told a House of Representatives subcommittee on Nov 2 that he hopes to “have people from the United States on the ground” in areas of high disease activity. Under the US plan, the Federal Government would take the lead in facilitating domestic production of vaccines, antivirals, diagnostics, and personal protective equipment. In addition, it would advance science as necessary and stockpile and coordinate distribution of countermeasures. States and localities would ensure that measures are in place to contain an outbreak, establish comprehensive preparedness and response plans, and integrate nonhealth entities into the effort, including law enforcement, utilities, city services, and political leaders. The plan sets aside $644 million to enhance state and local preparedness. Bush’s strategy is a broad overview of pandemic response. Later, HHS released a 396-page blueprint that delineates the doctrine and planning assumptions for the US public health and medical response. The HHS plan assumes a clinical disease attack rate of 30% in the overall population, with the highest rate, about 40%, among school-aged children. Under the most dire scenario, where the disease acts like the 1918 pandemic, 9·9 million people would require hospitalisation, 1·5 million would need intensive care, and 1·9 million would die of influenza and related infections. Calling the President’s plan a “long awaited first step”, Senator Edward Kennedy urged further funding for
Rights were not granted to include this image in electronic media. Please refer to the printed journal
AP
US vaccine-production capabilities will receive the bulk of US$7·1 billion in new funding outlined in President George W Bush’s National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, released last week. The plan calls for $1·5 billion to produce vaccines using current methods and $2·8 billion to fasttrack development of cell-culture technology. “By bringing cell-culture technology from the research laboratory into the production line, we should be able to produce enough vaccine for every American within 6 months of the start of a pandemic”, Bush said in a Nov 1 speech at the National Institutes of Health just outside Washington, DC. However, even with the additional funding, which is now being considered by Congress, Administration officials concede that it will be 4–5 years before the US could even begin to meet the plan’s vaccine production goals. With only one domestic vaccine manufacturer, the US has struggled in the last several years to keep up supply for routine immunisations, including seasonal influenza. The Administration is offering regulatory streamlining, funding, and liability exemptions to encourage domestic production. In other pandemic preparations, the President is requesting $1 billion to purchase doses of antiviral drugs. The plan would provide $800 million for research into more effective medications and therapies. While saying the US has been given “fair warning of this danger to our homeland”, Bush stressed that panic was unnecessary. “At this point, we do not have evidence that a pandemic is imminent”, he said. The Administration deems vaccine development to be the foundation of
public-health infrastructure expansions. “We need to strengthen the capacity of hospitals and health care facilities to respond and react to a pandemic”, he said. “Stockpiles alone aren’t enough without the capacity to make use of them.” Public health professor Ruth Berkelman of Emory University also said the US public-health system has a “long way to go” before it is prepared, but she called the Bush plan “well reasoned” and said it addresses some fundamental problems. However, Martin Blaser, president of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), said in a statement that ”significant issues remain to be resolved”. He added that while IDSA applauded President Bush for outlining an aggressive domestic and international approach, additional investment in state and local preparedness, surge capacity, and risk communication is still needed.
Nellie Bristol 1683