National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan One Year Summary
Acknowledgements
This One Year Summary provides an overview of the steps that the Federal Government has taken to prepare the Nation for an influenza pandemic. While these accomplishments are credited to the U.S. Government, they result from the coordinated efforts of many Federal departments and agencies. It is not possible to capture the full depth and breadth of those activities in a report of this nature, but the following provides a very brief summary of some of them.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is conducting surveillance for influenza in domestic animals and animal products, monitoring wildlife in coordination with the Department of the Interior (DOI), and working to ensure an effective veterinary response to a domestic animal outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza. As part of an international effort, USDA has provided education, research, monitoring, and eradication assistance to affected countries to slow the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 overseas. USDA, in coordination with other key Federal and State departments and agencies as well as industry partners, has developed a detailed response plan to contain and eliminate a domestic outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The Department of Commerce (DOC) is promoting pandemic preparedness across the private sector, both domestically and internationally, by creating guidance and executing outreach. DOC, in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is playing a key role in pandemic preparedness in the Pacific Rim through leadership in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Over the past year, DOC, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has worked with private sector, academic, and government organizations to promote critical infrastructure preparedness. In addition, DOC has been actively involved, in coordination with the Department of the Treasury and other economic agencies, in evaluating the economic effects of proposed government policies meant to minimize the spread of pandemic influenza.
The Department of Defense (DOD) is working to protect American interests at home and abroad in the event of a pandemic. DOD supports the Department of State (DOS) in international engagement to promote global capacity to address an influenza pandemic and provides up-to-date information and pandemic risk-level assessments as an integral part of the global surveillance network for pandemic influenza. Domestically, DOD supports DHS and HHS in developing, planning, and exercising national and regional response efforts. In order to maintain readiness and to promote international efforts, geographic combatant commands continue to exercise, refine, and review their existing plans with Federal departments and agencies and international partners.
The Department of Education (ED) is working with schools to ensure that they have the proper tools to assist in mitigating the spread of a pandemic by preparing students, families, and staff. ED has convened expert roundtables, created guidance, provided resources, conducted outreach, and produced information campaigns for education stakeholders.
The Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for the overall coordination of the public health and medical emergency response during a pandemic. HHS, in coordination with other Federal departments and agencies, has provided guidance, conducted training and outreach, and developed tools critical to pandemic preparedness and response, at home and abroad. International efforts include establishment of regionally deployable response teams and provision of technical assistance with investigation of human H5N1 outbreaks. HHS has led initiatives to strengthen disease detection and surveillance, provide guidance on community mitigation measures to reduce the spread and impact of a pandemic, enhance medical capacity to care for large numbers of infected people, and acquire and accelerate distribution of countermeasures from the Strategic National Stockpile. HHS continues to support the establishment of a robust domestic capacity to manufacture influenza vaccine, foster the incorporation of modern vaccine production methods, support advanced development of dose-sparing technologies, and acquire a stockpile of pre-pandemic vaccine.
The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for the coordination of the overall Federal response during an influenza pandemic. DHS has pre-designated the Pandemic Influenza Principal Federal Official (PFO) and Regional PFOs for coordinating this response. DHS is ensuring continuity of government operations, the integrity of the Nation's critical infrastructure, and domestic security and is working with HHS to implement scalable border measures during a pandemic. Initiatives include outreach to governmental organizations, the private sector, and critical infrastructure entities, through education and guidance development as well as continued development of an integrated biosurveillance system. In coordination with other Federal departments and agencies, DHS is developing a coordinated government-wide concept of operations plan for response to a severe pandemic.
The Department of the Interior is enhancing surveillance systems for identifying wildlife that may be carrying highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1. In coordination with USDA, DOI has trained hundreds of biologists over the past year in sample and data collection and entry techniques for wild birds and effective monitoring of wild bird mortality. In addition, DOI continues to work with other Federal departments and agencies, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, private citizens, and the media to raise awareness and enhance our understanding of and response to avian influenza.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is enhancing pandemic preparedness across the justice system to ensure continuity of public safety and the justice system during a pandemic. Over the past year, DOJ has developed best-practices guidance, held a number of pandemic preparedness seminars, and worked in coordination with DHS and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to ensure the safety and functioning of the first responder community in the event of a pandemic.
The Department of Labor (DOL) is promoting employer preparedness to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the Nation's workforce as an essential component of maintaining critical infrastructure and economic security during a pandemic. Over the past year, DOL has issued guidance, developed in consultation with HHS, to help America's employers meet their responsibility to protect their employees during a pandemic. DOL has also issued guidance targeted to employers and employees in the healthcare industry, a workforce that is indispensable to the Nation's pandemic response.
The Department of State is leading and coordinating international efforts including U.S. engagement in a broad range of bilateral and multilateral initiatives that build cooperation and capacity to fight the spread of avian influenza and to prepare for a possible pandemic. These initiatives include the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, which has elevated pandemic influenza on national agendas and mobilized resources for the global effort, the North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza, and information on pandemic preparedness to American citizens overseas. DOS has also carried out public diplomacy activities through training foreign journalists, and sending experts abroad to speak to medical and veterinary health professionals, government officials, and the media.
The Department of Transportation is working to ensure that coordinated actions are taken by the transportation sector to limit spread of infection while preserving the movement of essential goods and services and limiting the impact of the pandemic on the economy. Over the last year, DOT has worked with the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and 9-1-1 community to develop protocols and guidelines, conducted outreach and education campaigns for transportation stakeholders, and worked closely with DHS and other border stakeholders to plan for transportation and border measures.
The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) is working to ensure that the financial sector is prepared for a pandemic by communicating guidance, conducting outreach and education campaigns, and executing exercises with financial sector stakeholders. In addition, Treasury is preparing policy responses to pandemic-related international economic developments; for example, the Department is leading the Federal Government's engagement with the multilateral development banks (MDB) and international financial institutions (IFI), including encouraging MDB and IFI efforts to assist countries to address the threat of pandemic influenza.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates the largest Federal integrated healthcare system and has increased pandemic preparedness by enhancing surveillance, stockpiling scarce resources, contributing to Federal Government efforts to develop critical guidance for healthcare facilities and healthcare workers, and participating in State and community-level preparedness activities. VA organized and exercised a leadership and incident command structure and created an advisory panel of experts in pandemic influenza and VA operations.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is assisting DHS and HHS in preparing the Nation's water sector (drinking water and wastewater) utilities by working to increase preparedness and maintain essential services in the event of an avian influenza or human pandemic influenza outbreak. EPA has engaged Federal, State, and local partners in order to develop and promote the establishment of mutual aid and assistance agreements so that water sector utilities can appropriately assist each other in time of need.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is working to ensure that Federal departments and agencies have the workforce needed to complete critical missions during a pandemic. OPM has conducted outreach to Federal human capital stakeholders, created guidance for and provided technical assistance to human resources offices within Federal agencies, and designed pandemic-related educational materials and programs, including a new telework guide, specifically for Federal employees.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with HHS and USDA, is assisting countries at risk, including those experiencing outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, in increasing public awareness and developing surveillance and diagnostic capacity at national, regional, and local levels toward timely notification of suspected cases of avian influenza. USAID has developed a stockpile of essential commodities for use by surveillance and response workers for effective disease containment during outbreaks and has shipped these commodities to over 70 countries to date.
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