October 28, 2005

US approves US$8 billion against bird flu

The US Senate recently approved nearly US$8 billion to help the government stockpile vaccines and other drugs against bird flu. The disease had already sparked worldwide fears that a pandemic might occur, in light of the recent cases in Europe.

Of the amount, US$3.3 billion would go towards stockpiling bird flu vaccines, and about US$3 billion would fund antiviral drugs for the US population of nearly 300 million.

The funds might also allow hospitals to expand their ability in dealing with a large number of patients if an outbreak occurred. The money could also be used to monitor human outbreaks of bird flu around the world.

This latest decision would replace last month's Senate approval for about $US4 billion to mostly buy antiviral drugs.