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More work needed to ensure national flu defenses

Infection Control Monitor, July 20, 2007

More than a year after President Bush unveiled plans for dealing with a pandemic flu outbreak, the federal government still has limited capacity to detect a disease outbreak and track its progress across the country, reported The New York Times.

That was the conclusion following a July 17 White House briefing on the government's progress in preparing the nation for an outbreak of a deadly infectious disease. The government has decided not to close the country's borders if a pandemic flu outbreak occurs somewhere in the world and in the coming weeks will release its priority list detailing who will get the first supply of flu vaccines in the event of an outbreak, the Times reported.

The Department of Health and Human Services on July 17 also announced that it has released $897 million to states for emergency preparedness efforts, including $175 million for pandemic flu preparedness, the newspaper reported.

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