Safety

United States remains unprepared for bioterrorism attack

Emergency Management Alert, July 19, 2005

Despite a $20 billion investment in bioterrorism preparedness in 2001, government officials say the United States remains unprepared to respond to a bioterrorism attack, reports USA Today.

"We're almost four years after 9/11, and we've made maybe six months' worth of progress," says Irwin Redlener of Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness.

Michael Chertoff, the security of the federal Department of Homeland Security, says he plans to put more emphasis on catastrophic events.

But much of the responsibility of stockpiling antidotes rests with the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Its biggest challenges include:

  • Local officials aren't prepared to deliver medical equipment and supplies, which the government has stockpiled, to citizens in time to save lives

  • A $5.6 billion program to drive pharmaceutical firms to develop vaccines has yet to see results
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