HHS Review Calls For Improved Emergency Preaparedness
By Lori Clapper, Web Editor
Last Thursday, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has released an examination of the federal government's system to produce medical countermeasures — the medications, vaccines, equipment, and supplies needed in the event of a health emergency. She requested a comprehensive review of the system These supplies are known as medical countermeasures. Aafter the department encountered challenges with the flu vaccine during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.
The report highlights the need for a modernized countermeasure production process. Specifically, this review identified five areas of improvement:- Strengthening regulatory science at the FDA
- Developing flexible manufacturing
- Nurturing discoveries in their earliest stages
- Upgrading the way flu vaccines are manufactured
- Establishing a strategic investment fund for new countermeasure technologies
In her remarks, Secretary Sebelius also added that the HHS will direct nearly $2 billion in preparedness funds to these five areas.
Read more in the HHS press release.
Read a transcript of Secretary Sebelius' speech.