How much TAMIFLU is the US government stockpiling?

The CDC’s Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) has large quantities of medicine and medical supplies to protect the American public if there is a public health emergency (terrorist attack, flu outbreak, earthquake) severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.  Once federal and local authorities agree that the SNS is needed, medicines will be delivered to any state in the US within 12 hours. Each state has plans to receive and distribute SNS medicine and medical supplies to local communities as quickly as possible.

 

United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt recently announced additional purchases of antiviral drugs that could be used in the event of a potential influenza pandemic. With these purchases, the Strategic National Stockpile will have a total of 26 million treatment courses of antiviral drugs for distribution to the states when an influenza pandemic is deemed to be imminent. “Our ultimate goal is to stockpile sufficient quantities of antiviral drugs to treat 25% of the US population,” Secretary Leavitt said. 

 

Antiviral stockpiling – state and local government

A pandemic occurs in many localities almost simultaneously. Because of this, much of the planning for a pandemic must be the responsibility of state and local governments. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is stockpiling antivirals and is allocating them to states based on population. Purchases in FY2006 will bring the nation’s stockpile of antivirals to 20 million courses by the end of this year (a course is the supply needed to treat one person). With anticipated FY2007 funding, HHS plans to order an additional 24 million courses which will likely be delivered in 2008. An additional 31 million courses (FY2006) are available for state purchase, with HHS providing a 25 percent subsidy. State governors have been asked to notify HHS of their plans to purchase their allocated antivirals by July 1, 2006.

 

To view state allocations of antivirals, please visit: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/state/antivirals.html