The Real Reason For The Bird Flu Scare!

[Guest guest]

[Here they go! Money, Money, Money, for the

Pharmaceutical industry. No surprise here though of

course. All these precious wild birds killed for this

sick hoax. What a species we are. Anyone notice how

mad cow disease is always played down, when its

probably a much bigger threat to us than this bird flu

hoax! Thats because they cant make any money off the

mad cow issue. Its not a vaccine issue $$$, so they

claim it barely exist. Rick]

 

 

Bush Outlines $7.1B Flu-Fighting Strategy

 

Source >

http://news./s/ap/20051102/ap_on_he_me/bush_flu

 

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer 48 minutes ago

 

WASHINGTON -

President Bush outlined a $7.1 billion strategy

Tuesday to prepare for a possible worldwide super-flu

outbreak, aiming to overhaul the vaccine industry so

eventually every American could be inoculated within

six months of a pandemic's beginning.

 

Such a huge change would take years to implement �

Bush's goal is 2010 � and his plan drew immediate

fire from critics who said it wouldn't provide enough

protection in the meantime. States, too, got an

unpleasant surprise, ordered to purchase millions of

doses of an anti-flu drug with their own money.

 

The long-awaited strategy also stresses expanded

attempts to detect and contain the next super-flu

before it reaches the United States, with particular

attention to parts of Asia that are influenza

incubators � a global focus that flu specialists

have insisted the government adopt.

 

" Early detection is our first line of defense, " Bush

said in a speech at the

National Institutes of Health. He called on other

countries to admit when super-flu strains occur within

their borders. " No nation can afford to ignore this

threat, " he said.

 

At the same time, Bush sought to reassure a public

jittery over the spread of bird flu, called H5N1,

which has killed at least 62 people in Asia since 2003

and caused the death or destruction of tens of

millions of birds.

 

There is no evidence that a human pandemic, of H5N1 or

any other super-strain, is about to start, Bush said

repeatedly.

 

Still, there have been three flu pandemics in the last

century and the world is overdue for another. Concern

is growing that the bird flu could provide the spark

if it one day mutates so that it can spread easily

from person to person.

 

" Our country has been given fair warning of this

danger to our homeland, and time to prepare, " Bush

said.

 

Topping Bush's strategy:

 

_$1.2 billion to stockpile enough vaccine against the

current H5N1 flu strain to protect 20 million

Americans, the estimated number of health workers and

other first-responders involved in a pandemic.

 

_$1 billion for the drugs Tamiflu and Relenza, which

can treat and, in some cases, prevent flu infection.

Enough to treat 44 million people and prevent

infection in 6 million others is headed for the

federal stockpile. States were told to buy 31 million

treatment courses, but Bush is funding only a quarter

of the states' anticipated bill.

 

_$2.8 billion to speed production of pandemic vaccines

� including better-matched strains � by learning

to manufacture them in easier-to-handle cell cultures,

instead of today's slow method that relies on millions

of chicken eggs.

 

_$251 million for international preparations,

including improving early-warning systems to spot

human infections with novel flu strains.

 

_$100 million for state preparations, including

determining how to deliver stockpiled medicines

directly to patients.

 

_$56 million to test poultry and wild birds for H5N1

or other novel flu strains entering the U.S. bird

population.

 

_A call for Congress to provide liability protection

for makers of a pandemic vaccine, which unlike shots

against the regular winter flu would be experimental,

largely untested.

 

Bush's announcement came after his administration was

battered by criticism over its lethargic response to

Hurricane Katrina.

 

Public health specialists, briefed on the strategy but

awaiting details, called it a good start.

 

" Clearly this is the No. 1 public health issue on the

radar screen, " said Michael Osterholm of the

University of Minnesota, who advises the government on

infectious disease threats.

 

But it's not strong enough, said Sen. Edward Kennedy

(news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., who helped lead

Senate passage of $8 billion in emergency funding for

pandemic preparations last month.

 

" Stockpiles alone aren't enough without the capacity

to make use of them, " he said, calling for steps to

help states, cities and hospitals prepare for a flood

of panicked patients.

 

" There is a gaping hole " in the plan, added Sen.

Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y.,

who said the nation should stockpile enough Tamiflu

for half the population, not the quarter that would be

covered if the states added their share under Bush's

plan.

 

The states' contribution will be difficult, said

Republican Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, chairman of

the National Governors Association. " They expect us to

pay 75 cents on a dollar for flu medicine � that's

going to be a tough pill to swallow, " he said through

a spokeswoman.

 

The states' collective tab would reach $510 million,

said Kim Elliott, deputy director of the nonpartisan

Trust for America's Health. She worried that some

wouldn't buy any, and that others wouldn't share their

Tamiflu stash if a pandemic struck in a part of the

country that ran out.

 

" It depends on where you live and the state of your

state's budget as to whether or not you might receive

a treatment drug, " she said.

 

If a pandemic strikes, the

Department of Health and Human Services will direct

the medical response, and on Wednesday it will unveil

long-awaited details. Still to be finalized is a plan

from the

Homeland Security Department, which will coordinate

how the government balances protecting the public with

keeping schools, businesses and transportation sectors

running.

 

" People think, " Oh, if I get sick, I'll stay home,' "

said Homeland Security spokesman Brian Doyle. " But

what happens when schools are closed for four months?

Will truck drivers want to deliver food? "

 

___

 

On the Net:

 

Government's pandemic flu site:

http://www.pandemicflu.gov

 

 

 

 

 

 

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