Hearing Of The Senate Committee On Homeland Security And Governmental Affairs- H1N1 Flu: Monitoring The Nation's Response

Statement

By now, everyone in this room is familiar with the threat we currently face from the H1N1 influenza virus. This oversight hearing is important, however, because we must continue to assess the effectiveness of federal, state, and local efforts to respond to this pandemic, which appears to strike pregnant women, children, and young people with particular ferocity.
Just this past week in Maine, Bates College made the news when the number of H1N1 flu cases jumped from six to 160 within less than a week. As of yesterday, 245 Bates students are infected with H1N1.
Public health experts are learning as they go along, sometimes with surprising results that run counter to their earlier assumptions about H1N1. For example, the CDC just released a report that found that 46 percent of 1,400 adults hospitalized with H1N1 were healthy and did not have chronic illness before they got sick with the flu. While this was a preliminary analysis, the new report paints a different picture than previous studies, which concluded that the vast majority of H1N1 patients who became severely ill had chronic or other underlying health conditions. New data like this report must constantly be taken into account as we handle our nation's pandemic flu.
It is clear that much work has gone into preparing for this outbreak. Our country has mobilized as government officials at all levels, doctors and other health care professionals, non-profit organizations and private businesses have devoted significant time and resources to tackling the many challenges posed by this virus.
The Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, written by this Committee, mandated comprehensive and coordinated disaster planning to improve our preparedness for both man-made and naturally occurring catastrophes like this pandemic. In addition, Congress has allocated nearly $9 billion to HHS alone over the past five years for pandemic preparedness. These efforts laid the foundation for the strong response we have seen to date.
Nonetheless, while the government and private sector have accomplished a great deal, significant concerns remain.
For example, despite the assurances of federal officials, millions of Americans are worried about the safety of the H1N1 vaccine. They want to know if it's safe to give to their children, what kind of testing was done, and whether it contains any dangerous additives. The state CDC in Maine reports many calls from citizens asking these questions.
State officials also remain concerned about whether there will be a sufficient number of doses of the vaccine. For example, in the next eight weeks, Maine is scheduled to receive only 340,000 doses of the vaccine. This falls short of the amount needed to vaccinate everyone in the priority groups that the CDC has identified.
I am disturbed by CDC's recent reports on the supply of vaccinations. CDC has been telling us since the summer that the federal government would have a sufficient supply of H1N1 vaccine to meet the demand; CDC also said that 40 million doses would be available by the end of October. It now appears production delays will result in 25 percent fewer doses than had been projected for this month.
Given that the virus disproportionately affects children, we also need to make sure that we have a sufficient supply of pediatric formulations of antiviral medications, like Tamiflu.
Another significant concern is whether or not our nation's emergency rooms have sufficient capacity to cope with a massive influx of sick patients if the pandemic worsens.
The fact that three Cabinet Secretaries are here today demonstrates the seriousness with which the federal government is preparing for and responding to the H1N1 pandemic.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Source