Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii). Visit NNii's new website at http://www.immunizationinfo.org.
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January 27, 2003
U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Health Systems 'Unprepared for Bioterror' Threat"
Financial Times (www.ft.com) (01/27/03) P. 6; Groom, Brian
U.S. Health Secretary Tommy Thompson predicts that a bioterrorism attack will occur somewhere in the world, and he recommends that nations spend more money to make their health systems capable of dealing with such an attack. He recently met with health ministers and officials from the G20 nations, the leading industrialized and developing countries, at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland to try to increase international efforts in vaccine sharing and research and to work on mutual assistance pacts for nations that are attacked. The U.S. government is spending billions of dollars on bioterrorism preparations, has bought enough smallpox vaccine for its entire population, and is looking for new vaccines for anthrax and other diseases. Thompson noted that other nations need to get smallpox vaccines and prepare their health infrastructures.
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