The Hill's "Healthwatch" blog continues: "The new strategy calls for a $2 billion investment over the next few years, most of which Sebelius said was already appropriated last year in response to the H1N1 flu. In addition to moving money around, the administration will seek congressional authorization for the creation of the strategic investment fund, Sebelius said. Coincidentally, the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology [PCAST] on Thursday released its plan [.pdf] to improve the nation's vaccine response in the event of pandemic influenza or other outbreaks" (8/19).

The PCAST report "identifies five key junctures where improvements over current practices could contribute to a faster overall response, and specifies those agencies that should receive targeted federal support to accomplish the work of making those improvements," according to a Office of Science and Technology Policy press release (.pdf).

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