BIOTERROR FUNDING PROVIDES BLUEPRINT TO BUILD A STRONG
NEW PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE
Overview: The threat of bioterrorism presents significant new challenges to America's public health system. Preparedness for this threat requires a strong, new public health network. Even the simple detection that an attack has taken place requires vigilant attention to unusual symptoms and patterns of disease, possibly over a wide geographic area. And once detected, a bioterrorism attack can quickly overwhelm local resources.
To cope with these threats, local, regional and state health resources must be closely linked in a nationwide network. The network must have the capability to detect and report unusual patterns, and it must have substantial laboratory resources ready for use. Local health facilities, especially hospitals, must be prepared to deal with the unusual demands of a bioterror situation. Likewise, national reserves of drugs, vaccines, medical equipment and emergency medical personnel need to be on standby to provide rapid assistance whenever local resources may become overwhelmed.
HHS has been taking steps since 1999 to prepare for these challenges - and the anthrax attacks of 2001 constituted a sudden test of these initial steps. While the response benefited from this initial preparedness, the attacks also demonstrated significant gaps, and they underscored the need to move much more quickly in building the public health network and national emergency response capacities.
On Jan. 10, President Bush signed appropriations legislation providing $2.9 billion for HHS, a ten-fold increase in the department's funding for bioterrorism preparedness. As the lead federal agency in preparing for the bioterrorism threat, HHS will work closely with states, local government and the private sector to build the needed new public health infrastructure, and to accelerate research into likely bioterror diseases.
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has committed to providing funds rapidly, while ensuring full accountability for the new spending. He announced a first installment of more than $200 million in funding for state and local resources, to be made available by Jan. 31.
Highlights of the FY 2002 Bioterror Supplemental Appropriations Includes:
HHS spending on bioterrorism preparedness will total $2.9 billion in fiscal year 2002, almost 10 times the amount that was available in 2001 ($296 million).
While HHS has been working since 1999 to ramp up bioterrorism preparedness, the events of 2001 made clear the urgency of much more rapid action, especially: to prepare our nation's public health system and hospitals for future emergencies, standup emergency reserves of medical supplies for use in a variety of possible mass casualty events, and accelerate our program of research into new treatments and diagnostic tools to cope with possible bioterrorism incidents.
Significant areas of spending in fiscal year 2002 include:
--Fortifying the federal/state/local public health network ($940 million)
--Helping hospitals prepare to cope with bioterror incidents ($135 million)
--Support for community emergency preparedness [OEP] ($51 million)
--Expanding the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile ($645 million)
--Purchasing new smallpox vaccine ($512 million)
--NIH-supported research ($248 million)
--FDA food safety and drug/vaccine preparedness ($145 million)
President Bush signed appropriations measures Jan. 10 making the fiscal year 2002 funds available. HHS acted immediately to carry out its earlier-negotiated purchase of ciprofloxacin as part of the expansion of the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile and its emergency "Push Packages."
In addition to the bioterror preparedness spending, HHS is also providing a total of $390 in recovery funding in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, and to improve security at HHS labs and other facilities. (This includes the $126 million announced Sept. 21.)
Release of Public Health Infrastructure Funds:
On Jan. 24, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced more than $200 million in funding for the first installment in the $1 billion designed to rebuild state and local public health infrastructure. The areas to be targeted in this first round include:
Metropolitan Medical Response System: The MMRS funding will add an additional 25 new cities to those which have already received funding in past years and will mean that 80 percent of the U.S. population will be covered by an MMRS plan.
The Lab Network: The Lab Network consists of labs across the country that conduct tests for purposes of identifying outbreaks of disease including disease from a bioterror attack. The funds in this category will be used to expand the network further and to enhance lab capabilities.
Hospital Planning: Hospitals play a critical role in both identifying and responding to any potential bioterror or disease outbreak. The funds in this category will be used by states to create regional hospital plans to respond in the event of a bioterror attack.
Health Alert Network: Currently, the Health Alert Network (HAN) is a developing communications network used by the CDC to communicate with state and local health departments regarding possible disease outbreaks or to provide warning if a disease outbreak is known to exist somewhere in the country. The goal is have at least 90 percent of the population in America covered by the HAN network. The funds would be used to develop better and faster methods of sending out and receiving messages using the Internet between the federal government, state and local public health offices, emergency responders and hospitals.
Emergency Stockpile: There are eight existing 50-ton Push Packages of medical supplies placed strategically around the country, with funds in the $2.9 billion supplemental bill to increase the number to 12. These Push Packages contain medical supplies that could be needed in a disaster including a bioterror attack.
Other key goals include:
Having at least one epidemiologist in each metro area with a population greater than 500,000;
Developing an education and training plan that will reach health professionals, emergency room physicians and nurses, local public health officials and the public with information relating to bioterrorism, new and emerging diseases and other infectious agents;
Targeting bioterrorism research to new vaccines, anti-viral drugs and new diagnostic tools to better protect against biologics.
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news.
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