In the News Links appear for content that is available online indefinitely. January 9, 2008
New York presses to deploy more bioweapons sensors, by Spencer Hsu. Washington Post.
Article references a statement in Dr. Tara O'Toole's October 2007 Congressional testimony: "Does it make sense to invest limited biodefense funds in more advanced BioWatch technology even as we cut funds for public health personnel needed to analyze BioWatch data, as we are now doing?" October 23, 2007
Panel frets about bioterror preparedness six years after anthrax attacks, by Lauren Phillips. Congressional Quarterly Today.
Regarding the lack of funding appropriated for BARDA: Dr. Tara O'Toole was quoted,"That is sending, I think totally unintentionally, but very loudly, a message to the biotech and pharma companies in this game that Congress doesn't really take biodefense seriously." October 23, 2007
Vaccine problems, plans scrutinized during Senate hearing, by Dan Friedman. National Journal's Congress Daily.
With regard to funds for Project Bioshield, Dr. Tara O'Toole notes that "Five billion [dollars] is much less than we're going to need." August 28, 2007
Homeland Security: Inside and Out. Host: Randy Larsen. KAMU 90.9 FM.
Radio interview with Dr. Tara O'Toole regarding a Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's report about the National Biosurveillance Integration System: "This report actually says that since 2001 federal agencies have spent more than $32 billion on electronic surveillance systems to address biodefense, and I have to say, with regret, I haven't seen much improvement in what we can actually detect, or in our ability to manage a public health emergency once one is underway. So we've spent a lot of money not getting very far." August 27, 2007
Blind preparation, by Andy Opsahl. Government Technology.
In-depth interview with Dr. Tara O'Toole in which she discusses the current state of bioterrorism preparedness and the lack of national strategy: ". . .This is why a conduct of operations plan—exactly what actions we are going to take if this happens—is important. The fact that it's missing, even for an anthrax attack, is another symptom of our lack of any kind of strategic thinking." August 10, 2007
Biological surveillance falls short, report says; Lack of staff cited as deficiency in program to protect nation; critics say Homeland Security has no strategy, by Rebecca Carr and Allison Young. Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Dr. Tara O'Toole comments on the Department of Homeland Security's National Bio-Surveillance Integration System "They wanted to build a national hurricane watch for public health emergencies. . . But just as we saw with Hurricane Katrina, just watching the hurricane coming is not enough." July 5, 2007
When the 'bleed-out' begins; A state of unreadiness nearly 6 years after 9/11, by David Ignatius. Washington Post.
Dr. Tara O'Toole's testimony before the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Homeland Security is quoted: "More than five years after the anthrax mailings, the U.S. still lacks a coherent plan for conduct of operations to guide the health-care sector's response to mass-casualty care in the event of a bioterrorist attack or other large-scale catastrophe." June 1, 2007
Germ warfare: agencies scramble to create vaccine market, by Breanne Wagner. National Defense.
Dr. Tara O'Toole's testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce is quoted on the subject of private investment in biodefense countermeasures: "Even in the most profitable scenarios, biodefense countermeasures . . . cannot generate profits comparable to successful medicines for chronic disease that are taken for years by large populations." May 16, 2007
Syndromic surveillance: faulty alarm system or useful tool? by Maryn McKenna. CIDRAP News.
Article refers to recommendations that Dr. Tara O'Toole made to Congress regarding the BioSense program. February 9, 2007
New York to test ways to prevent nuclear terror, by Eric Lipton. New York Times.
With regard to the potential use of detection devices to stop a terrorist plot to build a nuclear or radiological weapon within the U.S., Dr. Tara O'Toole notes "This is total baloney. . . They are forgetting that no matter what type of engineering solution they try in good faith to come up with, this is a thinking enemy and they will look for a way around it." January 9, 2007
Homeland Security: Inside and Out. Host: Randy Larsen. KAMU 90.9 FM.
Radio interview with Dr. Tara O'Toole, who talks about biosecurity and biotechnology. Dr. O'Toole notes "If we really invested, in an intelligent way and on the appropriate scale, in understanding and dealing with infectious diseases, we could not only protect ourselves against bioterrorism and natural epidemics, we could eliminate big lethal epidemics of infectious disease around the world." | 
