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News Release

HHS' BUDGET PLAN INCLUDES $100 MILLION TO PREPARE
FOR A POTENTIAL WORLDWIDE FLU OUTBREAK

President Bush has proposed a new $100 million initiative to prepare for a possible influenza pandemic involving a worldwide outbreak of a dangerous new flu variant, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson told lawmakers today.

In testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education, Secretary Thompson said the initiative would better prepare America for an outbreak such as the one that occurred in 1918 and killed 25 million people worldwide.

"Our budget proposes this $100 million increase to build the nation's vaccine production capabilities in the event that the world experiences a pandemic on the devastating scale experienced three times in the last century," Secretary Thompson said. "The recent cases of what has been called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome remind us all of the potential danger posed by emerging infectious diseases, especially a possible new influenza strain. This is why HHS and its agencies are continually preparing for potential new disease outbreaks."

Under President Bush's fiscal year 2004 budget plan, HHS would receive an additional $100 million to spur development of capacity to produce influenza vaccine year-round, and the development of and implementation of production techniques that could be scaled up rapidly in the event of a pandemic. HHS would work closely with industry to ensure this capacity exists -- so that new vaccine can be produced quickly if and when needed.

The constant changes in circulating influenza strains makes it impossible to stockpile vaccine as is done with other vaccines. A flu pandemic can occur when there is a major change in the virus' genetic structure, creating a new strain that causes widespread illness and death. For example, the 1918 influenza pandemic claimed more than 500,000 lives in the United States alone.

"If we wait until a pandemic begins, it may be too late to act to minimize the loss of life in our country and across the world," Secretary Thompson said. "While vaccines cannot be prepared in advance and stockpiled, we must plan and prepare for an outbreak now to ensure we have the ability to quickly produce fresh vaccine that is effective against a pandemic flu strain."

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Last Revised: March 19, 2003