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Biosecurity Briefing
TFAH Releases Edition of Annual Preparedness Report By Jennifer Nuzzo, December 21, 2007 On December 18, 2007, the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) released the 2007 edition of its annual preparedness report, Ready or Not. As with reports of previous years, Ready or Not 2007 “contains state-by-state health preparedness scores based on 10 key indicators to assess health emergency preparedness capabilities.” The report finds that “while important progress has been made, critical areas of the nation’s emergency health preparedness effort still require attention.” TFAH also notes that “the continuing trend of annual cuts in federal funding for state and local preparedness activities threatens the nation’s safety.” This year, the report considered actions and progress in the following categories: mass distribution, public health laboratory capacity, biosurveillance, healthcare liability protection, emergency preparedness drills, community resiliency, public health progress towards annual vaccination, funding. According to a TFAH press release, “all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) were evaluated based on data from publicly available sources or public officials in 2007.” For each of the ten indicators, states were given one point if they met the baseline criteria for progress in that category and zero points if they did not. The report noted the following as “key findings” of this year’s assessment:
In total, the report found that “thirty-five states and D.C. scored eight or higher on the scale of 10 indicators.” The highest performers were “Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia [which] scored the highest with 10 out of 10.” Among the lowest scorers were “Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Wyoming” which each received points for only six out of the ten indicators. The Ready or Not 2007 assessment also included an evaluation of “federal progress in preparing the country for bioterrorism, disasters and disease.” Specifically, the report notes that “the passage of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) of 2006, issuance of presidential directives, and start-up of the new Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) are significant steps forward” in protecting the nation. However, TFAH argues that “major challenges” remain, including: “assuring adequate funding for [the Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response] ASPR's key programs, such as the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and delivering on the requirements of PAHPA to increase transparency and accountability in all federally-funded preparedness programs.”2 TFAH Executive Director Jeff Levi, PhD, notes that there have been some “encouraging” improvements in state preparedness; however, “the job of preparing the United States for major health emergencies is not nearly done."2 References
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