http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20060607-114350-6275r
US Coast Guard chief urges avian flu plan
WASHINGTON, June 7 (UPI) -- The commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard wants the avian flu pandemic threat to be included in a new national disaster response plan.
A list of emergency responsibilities included in the federal government's recently revamped plan for responding to disasters is in need of further evaluation, the Coast Guard's new chief said Tuesday.
Commandant Adm. Thad Allen said the 17 critical "emergency support functions" outlined in the National Response Plan fail to fully cover the possibility of a pandemic flu outbreak. The Homeland Security Department updated that plan -- the blueprint for how federal, state and local governments will respond to disasters -- on May 25, just in time for the June 1 start of the new hurricane season, GovExec.com reported.
The plan's emergency functions section delegates first aid to the American Red Cross and general medical and health issues to the Health and Human Services Department. But the section doesn't specifically address vaccination, Allen said. He made his comments in a speech at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's higher education conference in Emmitsburg, MD., GovExec.com said
"We don't need to resolve it for the next hurricane season," Allen said. "We need to resolve it for avian flu."
Robert Zitz, the Homeland Security Department's deputy undersecretary for preparedness, said in a separate speech at the conference that the federal government is aggressively planning to counter avian flu, should it spread in the United States, GovExec.com said.
Zitz said the government has committed "several hundred million dollars" to avian flu research and vaccines through Project BioShield, a multi-billion-dollar federal initiative aimed at producing treatments for ailments stemming from disasters of natural, chemical, biological or nuclear origin. However, according to an Health and Human Services-managed Web site dedicated to avian flu, that price tag has increased.
US Coast Guard chief urges avian flu plan
WASHINGTON, June 7 (UPI) -- The commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard wants the avian flu pandemic threat to be included in a new national disaster response plan.
A list of emergency responsibilities included in the federal government's recently revamped plan for responding to disasters is in need of further evaluation, the Coast Guard's new chief said Tuesday.
Commandant Adm. Thad Allen said the 17 critical "emergency support functions" outlined in the National Response Plan fail to fully cover the possibility of a pandemic flu outbreak. The Homeland Security Department updated that plan -- the blueprint for how federal, state and local governments will respond to disasters -- on May 25, just in time for the June 1 start of the new hurricane season, GovExec.com reported.
The plan's emergency functions section delegates first aid to the American Red Cross and general medical and health issues to the Health and Human Services Department. But the section doesn't specifically address vaccination, Allen said. He made his comments in a speech at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's higher education conference in Emmitsburg, MD., GovExec.com said
"We don't need to resolve it for the next hurricane season," Allen said. "We need to resolve it for avian flu."
Robert Zitz, the Homeland Security Department's deputy undersecretary for preparedness, said in a separate speech at the conference that the federal government is aggressively planning to counter avian flu, should it spread in the United States, GovExec.com said.
Zitz said the government has committed "several hundred million dollars" to avian flu research and vaccines through Project BioShield, a multi-billion-dollar federal initiative aimed at producing treatments for ailments stemming from disasters of natural, chemical, biological or nuclear origin. However, according to an Health and Human Services-managed Web site dedicated to avian flu, that price tag has increased.