What is the Government Doing to Prepare?

The United States has been working closely with other countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen systems to detect outbreaks of influenza that might cause a pandemic. The impacts of a pandemic can be lessened if preparations are made ahead of time.

Issued by President Bush on November 1, 2005, The National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza guides our country's preparedness and response to an influenza pandemic, with the intent of:

stopping, slowing or otherwise limiting the spread of a pandemic to the United States;
limiting the domestic spread of a pandemic, and mitigating disease, suffering and death; and
sustaining infrastructure and mitigating impact to the economy and the functioning of society.

To achieve these objectives the strategy identifies three critical pillars on which it is built:

"Preparedness and Communication" which includes planning for a pandemic; communicating expectations and responsibilities; and stockpiling vaccines, antiviral drugs and other medical materials.
"Surveillance and Detection" works to ensure rapid reporting of outbreaks and use of this surveillance to limit the spread of the virus.
"Response and Containment" outlines the capabilities necessary to contain outbreaks, leverage national medical and public health surge capacity, and ensure effective risk communication. Furthermore this third pillar addresses the ability to sustain infrastructure, essential services, and the economy.

In May 2006, the Homeland Security Council released the Implementation Plan for the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, which integrates planning across all levels of government to ensure that planning and response actions nationally are complementary, consistent and coordinated. The Implementation Plan directs federal agencies to carry out critical actions within prescribed amounts of time.

The Implementation Plan directs each federal department and agency, including EPA, to develop its own Pandemic Influenza Plan. EPA's Pandemic Influenza Plan addresses:

Protecting the health of employees
Maintaining essential functions and services
Supporting the federal response and states, localities, and tribal entities
Communication with stakeholders

What is the Government Doing to Prepare?

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