News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) takes a hit of about $270 million in the Obama administration's proposed fiscal year 2014 budget, including significant cuts to biodefense and emergency preparedness programs, officials revealed today.

(CIDRAP News) – US health officials today announced the establishment of three public-private centers designed to give the nation a new and stronger ability to quickly make vaccines and drugs to respond to bioterrorist attacks, pandemic influenza, and other public health emergencies.

(CIDRAP News) – The federal agency tasked with shoring up the nation's preparedness against a host of public health emergencies released a plan yesterday to help it and other partners focus and coordinate steps to meet national preparedness objectives.

(CIDRAP News) – In its efforts to establish apreparedness certification process for the private sector, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today said it has adopted final standards, which it claims represents a major milestone toward the program's implementation.

(CIDRAP News) – The US government needs much closer collaboration with private industry—like the arrangements used in building aircraft carriers and putting men on the moon—in order to improve the nation's medical defenses against biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear threats, says a report from a federal advisory panel.

(CIDRAP News) – Anticipating that a terrorist attack, influenza pandemic, or natural disaster will someday exhaust regional or national critical care systems, an expert task force recently issued a comprehensive series of reports that takes stock of current capabilities and recommends a surge framework that would care for as many patients as possible but would necessarily exclude some.

(CIDRAP News) – Several states have made progress preparing for a major public health emergency such as a pandemic or bioterror attack, but funding shortfalls at the federal level threaten to stall or even reverse recent gains, according to a report today from the nonprofit organization Trust for America's Health (TFAH).

(CIDRAP News) – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released a guide to help communities retool their health-related call centers into systems for meeting the needs of the public in homes or shelters during emergencies such as a pandemic or bioterrorist attack.

(CIDRAP News) – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced a one-time allocation of $75 million in grants to help states, territories, and four metropolitan areas prepare for an influenza pandemic.

(CIDRAP News) – The Bush administration's new budget proposes adding funds for pandemic preparedness while cutting some support for bioterrorism and local preparedness, drawing mixed reviews from national public health groups.