2.3 billion just approved for bird flu

This just out of US congress today.

Thats some serious moola. Get ready for some more big orders.

When this money was approved last time. I believe it was only a few weeks till we found out the size of the relenza order.


TITLE IV--PANDEMIC FLU

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES EMERGENCY FUND

(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)
The conference agreement provides $2,300,000,000 to prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic, the same overall funding level as proposed by the Senate. The House bill did not include a similar provision.

The conference agreement includes provisions proposed by the Senate giving the Secretary various authorities to purchase goods for the stockpile, enter into contracts for antivirals, construct or renovate privately-owned buildings, and transfer funds to other HHS accounts.

Within the total provided, the conference agreement includes $30,000,000 to be transferred to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for activities related to international surveillance, planning, preparedness, and response to the avian influenza virus. Neither the House nor the Senate included a similar provision.

The conferees intend that all federally-funded international surveillance, preparedness, and response activities be planned and implemented in a coordinated manner to maximize the chances of early detection of potential pandemics. The conferees expect HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and USAID officials to coordinate their international pandemic-related activities at all levels by maintaining frequent contacts at the senior leadership, program management, and on-the-ground personnel levels. The conferees direct HHS and USAID to submit a joint report to the appropriate House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees, within six months of enactment, which details their international surveillance, preparedness, and response activities and describes the manner in which they have been coordinated.

Within the total provided, the conferees have set aside $250,000,000 for state and local preparedness activities. The Senate included $300,000,000 for state and local capacity and the House did not include a similar provision. The conferees recognize that state and local public health departments play essential roles in responding to influenza outbreaks, including implementation of necessary epidemic containment measures, provision of services to homebound and disabled populations, distribution and redistribution of available antiviral medications and vaccines to high priority populations, and coordination with all other local medical and emergency response authorities. Therefore, the conferees encourage the Department to assure that distribution of pandemic influenza funds and all aspects of Federal pandemic influenza planning are consistent with operational realities at the local level and will have the intended public health results when implemented locally. The conferees further urge the Department to assure that all aspects of its pandemic influenza planning and preparations avoid duplication and inconsistency with other Federal directives affecting public health preparedness.

The conferees understand that State and local public health officials must be prepared to coordinate large-scale vaccination efforts in the case of a pandemic influenza outbreak. Therefore, the conferees encourage State and local public health departments to conduct local mass immunization exercises using seasonal flu vaccine.

Within the funds provided for upgrading state and local capacity, funds may be used for regional training meetings bringing together several states. These funds may also be used, if determined necessary by the director of CDC, to enhance flu program planning efforts and the existing preparedness training network at the established CDC centers for public health preparedness and other accredited schools of public health.

Within the total provided, the conference agreement includes $200,000,000 for CDC. These funds are intended to augment the fiscal year 2006 appropriation and expand and enhance on-going activities related to global and domestic disease surveillance, laboratory capacity and research, laboratory diagnostics, risk communication, rapid response, and quarantine. The Senate proposed a total of $250,000,000 for these activities within CDC, but included two separate provisos. The House did not include a similar provision.

The conference agreement does not include $5,000,000 as proposed by the Senate for the Smithsonian Institution to carry out domestic disease surveillance. The House did not include a similar provision.

The conferees are aware of the Department's plan to subsidize `up to' 25 percent of the cost of 31,000,000 courses of anti-virals. The conferees note that the bill language authorizing this subsidy is flexible and does not require, nor limit, the amount of the subsidy. The conferees encourage the Secretary to consider subsidizing these purchases beyond 25 percent for States whose finances have been severely affected by Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes of the 2005 season. The conferees believe that access to life-saving drugs should be based on public health need, not the finances of the State in which an individual resides