States Boosting Protections against Bioterrorism

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced January 25 that he's preparing to send more than $200 million to state governments to help them build better responses to bioterrorism. The designated funds come from the almost $3,000 million anti-terrorism law passed by the U.S. Congress after the September 11 attacks.

"The federal government is going to help states and communities build a better connected health system thereby strengthening the ability to respond to an attack," Thompson said.

The states are supposed to submit plans on how they'll improve their health systems over the next several months. The HHS press release announcing the initiative outlines general goals including improvements in infectious disease detection, hospital systems communication, and laboratory disease analysis capabilities.

Following is the text of the HHS press release:

Department Of Health And Human Services
January 25, 2002
HHS Press Office
Federal Funds For Public Health Infrastructure Begins To Flow To States

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced today plans for the release of the first installment of more than $200 million in funds from the more than $1 billion in bioterrorism money designated for states to help prepare their public health infrastructures to respond in the event of a bioterrorism attack.

The funds come from the $2.9 billion supplemental bioterrorism appropriations that President Bush signed into law Jan.10, 2002. The remaining 80 percent of the $1 billion in state funds will be awarded once HHS receives the state plans called for in the initial funding round. Plans are due to HHS no later than May 15, 2002.

"This is only the first step of many to help states build a stronger and more responsive public health infrastructure in the event of a bioterror attack. The federal government is going to help states and communities build a better connected health system thereby strengthening the ability to respond to an attack," Secretary Thompson said.

Improvements at the state and local level to achieve this goal include upgrading infectious disease surveillance, enhancing the readiness of hospital systems to deal with large numbers of casualties, expanding public health laboratory and communications capacities and improving connectivity between hospitals, and city, local and state health departments to enhance reporting.

"As a former governor, I understand the importance of getting governors directly involved on issues of public health and emergency response capabilities. In the next week, we will send each governor a letter specifying the first round funding amounts for their state, and most importantly, the goals they are expected to meet in order to achieve better preparedness," the Secretary said.

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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (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. Federal funds will be used for the development of emergency plans for the reception and distribution of the stockpile as well as vaccines or antibiotics. The plan would also include a strategy to communicate with the public.

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.

Letters announcing the funds will go out to governors by Jan. 31. HHS will receive the state plans called for in the letter as early as March 15 and no later than May 15, 2002. HHS will complete its review of each plan within 30 days of receipt. Each statewide plan is to lay out how it will respond to a bioterrorism event and other outbreaks of infectious disease, but also how it will strengthen core public health capacities in all relevant areas. Each statewide plan is to be reviewed and endorsed by the governor prior to submission.

"Partnerships between HHS, state and local governments will be an important part of the successful building of our public health infrastructure and today's announcement is the first step in that process," Thompson concluded.