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http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/bu_national/article/0,2565,ALBQ_19839_4828868,00.html
New York buying 1 million Tamiflu treatments
By Associated Press
July 8, 2006
ALBANY, N.Y. - New York is spending about $23 million to stockpile antiviral medications in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak in the coming years. Rob Kenny, a spokesman for the New York State Health Department said the state plans to buy more than 1 million Tamiflu treatment courses and another 227,000 courses of Relenza. New York, a state of more than 19 million people, has 60,000 Tamiflu treatment courses on hand already.
As part of its pandemic preparations, the federal government is stocking up on antivirals, which can reduce the symptoms associated with influenza. The Bush administration's plan is for the federal government to buy enough antivirals to treat 44 million people.
However, states can buy more if they want. The federal government is negotiating a price with Roche Corp., which makes Tamiflu, and will pay a quarter of the costs, up to a prescribed amount for each state. In all, states could use the subsidy to buy antivirals for an additional 31 million people.
A flu virus circulating among birds, the H5N1 virus, has ravaged poultry stocks in Asia since 2003 and recently spread to Europe through migratory birds. Health authorities fear the disease could mutate into a form that spreads from person-to-person, sparking a flu pandemic that could kill millions.
A total of 229 cases in humans, mostly in Asia, have been reported so far, leading to 131 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
"With the developments in other parts of the world, a pandemic is certainly possible," Kenny said. "This is being done for precautionary reasons."
The state is spending about $18 million on Tamiflu and $5 million on Relenza.
Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University's Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health, said such precautions are only worthwhile as part of a larger strategy.
"Tamiflu is not a complete answer by any stretch of the imagination," he said. "It's really much more concerning to me that our public health and hospital system is not ready to take care of a large number of patients."
A national report by the American College of Emergency Physicians in January found much of the nation wasn't prepared for the bird flu. New York state received an overall C+ grade for its emergency care system, slightly better than the C- rating given to the nation as a whole.
In February, the state released an emergency plan for any pandemic in New York such as bird flu that would include closing of schools and businesses and speedy distribution of vaccines. The public would also be advised to stockpile two weeks of food and water rations if the prospect of a pandemic seemed likely. The measures, part of the state's first flu pandemic plan, would largely be at the discretion of local health agencies.
While the state is spending a total of $29 million to prepare for a possible pandemic, the amount really needed is five to 10 times that amount, Redlener said.
New York buying 1 million Tamiflu treatments
By Associated Press
July 8, 2006
ALBANY, N.Y. - New York is spending about $23 million to stockpile antiviral medications in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak in the coming years. Rob Kenny, a spokesman for the New York State Health Department said the state plans to buy more than 1 million Tamiflu treatment courses and another 227,000 courses of Relenza. New York, a state of more than 19 million people, has 60,000 Tamiflu treatment courses on hand already.
As part of its pandemic preparations, the federal government is stocking up on antivirals, which can reduce the symptoms associated with influenza. The Bush administration's plan is for the federal government to buy enough antivirals to treat 44 million people.
However, states can buy more if they want. The federal government is negotiating a price with Roche Corp., which makes Tamiflu, and will pay a quarter of the costs, up to a prescribed amount for each state. In all, states could use the subsidy to buy antivirals for an additional 31 million people.
A flu virus circulating among birds, the H5N1 virus, has ravaged poultry stocks in Asia since 2003 and recently spread to Europe through migratory birds. Health authorities fear the disease could mutate into a form that spreads from person-to-person, sparking a flu pandemic that could kill millions.
A total of 229 cases in humans, mostly in Asia, have been reported so far, leading to 131 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.
"With the developments in other parts of the world, a pandemic is certainly possible," Kenny said. "This is being done for precautionary reasons."
The state is spending about $18 million on Tamiflu and $5 million on Relenza.
Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University's Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health, said such precautions are only worthwhile as part of a larger strategy.
"Tamiflu is not a complete answer by any stretch of the imagination," he said. "It's really much more concerning to me that our public health and hospital system is not ready to take care of a large number of patients."
A national report by the American College of Emergency Physicians in January found much of the nation wasn't prepared for the bird flu. New York state received an overall C+ grade for its emergency care system, slightly better than the C- rating given to the nation as a whole.
In February, the state released an emergency plan for any pandemic in New York such as bird flu that would include closing of schools and businesses and speedy distribution of vaccines. The public would also be advised to stockpile two weeks of food and water rations if the prospect of a pandemic seemed likely. The measures, part of the state's first flu pandemic plan, would largely be at the discretion of local health agencies.
While the state is spending a total of $29 million to prepare for a possible pandemic, the amount really needed is five to 10 times that amount, Redlener said.