U.S. Not Ready for Flu Pandemic, Official Says
The U.S. is unprepared for the next flu pandemic, lacking the manufacturing capacity to provide 300 million doses of a vaccine for three to five more years, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said.
“We’re not as prepared as we need to be,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We will not have enough for everyone.”
A strain of a bird flu that has killed 67 people in Asia has sparked concerns of a super-flu that could kill millions worldwide, and U.S. officials acknowledge that the strain in its current form could reach the U.S. through bird migration.
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