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Friday, November 04, 2005'I appreciate that the feds want to stockpile anti-viral drugs and improve the work toward getting a vaccine, but we also need basic support for state and local public health departments,' said Mary Selecky, secretary of the Washington State Department of Health. She said the proposal appears to represent a $30 million reduction in direct funding for preparedness at the state and local level. 'There seems to be a lack of connection between the strategy and recognition of what it takes to pull off these plans on the ground,' agreed Dorothy Teeter, acting director of Public Health -- Seattle & King County. 'It's not that there's too much money being put into (drugs and vaccines),' Teeter said. 'It's that there's not enough resources being directed to those who will be responsible for making this work.' The president's strategy earmarks $100 million of the $7.1 billion proposal for state and local preparedness. But the administration's budget had already reduced funding for state and local health departments by $130 million so the proposal actually still represents a cut in funding of some $30 million, Selecky said. I've only started to read through the plan (it's over 300 pages), but it does seem rather vague on the particulars that have to happen at a local level if it's going to work - crucial things like vaccine distribution and administration. " posted by Sydney on 11/04/2005 08:59:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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