“America needs to produce vaccines and therapeutics faster and less expensively than we have been because we might not have six months of advance warning for the next pandemic,” said retired Col. Randy Larsen, executive director of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, a bipartisan group created by Congress that is advocating more money for vaccine development. “We need more capacity.”
Larsen said the commission is pushing the U.S. to spend $3 billion a year — 10 times the annual spending currently budgeted — to enhance “U.S. vaccine preparedness.” The commission also is trying to mobilize the public behind its effort through its Web site, FasterVaccines.org.
“Whether the threat is from naturally occurring disease or bioterrorism, the United States needs to be able to produce vaccines and other medicines faster and less expensively,” said former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, chairman of the commission. “Creating the infrastructure for rapid development of large quantities of safe vaccines and medicine is a win-win for public health and national security.”