State of the Union and Pandemics

President Obama called to attention the nation's extreme unpreparedness in regards to threats of bio terrorism and pandemic.  This NY Times article lays out the concerns:  Plan to Respond to Bioterrorism  


"Obama will be asking government leaders to rethink their plans for medical countermeasures so that quick, reliable and affordable antidotes will be available during any public health emergency, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said. This would be a redesign of the medical antidote system, he said." 


"In 2008, the WMD commission was also critical of the government's ability to prepare and respond to a biological attack. The government did respond to that and developed a plan to prevent the illegal spread of biological weapons, such as anthrax. Obama rolled out that plan in November." 


"Retired Air Force Col. Randy Larsen, the commission's executive director, said the government was poorly prepared for the swine flu epidemic in 2009, suggesting that the country is not positioned to respond to something more serious. He pointed to the early shortage of H1N1 vaccine despite a six-month warning from health officials that the disease would be potentially deadly."