WAXMAN BLASTS BUSH FUNDING FOR ANTHRAX STUDY CALLS DIVERSION 'MISTAKE'.Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, blasted the Bush administration Friday for taking $145 million away from infectious disease funding in order to develop an anthrax vaccine. Calling the decision a ``serious mistake,'' Waxman noted that about $36 million of that money would come from HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome programs while the rest would be sucked away from research into current health threats such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Definition Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is the first emergent and highly transmissible viral disease to appear during the twenty-first century. . ``There is absolutely no need to cut HIV/AIDS and other research to fund an anthrax vaccine,'' Waxman and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., wrote in a letter to President George W. Bush. Both lawmakers argued that developing vaccines and treatments for bio-terror agents is important, but that the funding for it should come from the administration's ``BioShield'' plan designed specifically for that purpose. ``Preparing for a possible anthrax attack cannot be done at the expense of dealing with very real public health threats such as West Nile virus West Nile virus, microorganism and the infection resulting from it, which typically produces no symptoms or a flulike condition. The virus is a flavivirus and is related to a number of viruses that cause encephalitis. , SARS, HIV/AIDS or a new emerging infectious disease An emerging infectious disease (EID) is an infectious disease whose incidence has increased in the past 20 years and threatens to increase in the near future. EIDs include diseases caused by a newly identified microorganism or newly identified strain of a known microorganism (e.g. ,'' they wrote. White House officials on Friday referred calls on the matter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Noun 1. Department of Health and Human Services - the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979 Health and Human Services, HHS . A spokesman there did not return a call inquiring about the diversion of funds. But in a July 2 letter to Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., White House budget chief Joshua Bolton described the decision as one of ``careful deliberation.'' ``This plan was recommended by (the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) based on its judgment on the state of the science for the development of the next generation anthrax vaccine,'' Bolton wrote. According to Waxman, half the money will come from the infectious disease agency's own bio-defense budget; a quarter from its HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. projects; and the rest from research on other diseases. The Infectious Diseases Society of America The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is a medical association representing physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who specialize in infectious diseases. and the HIV Medicine Association also criticized the decision. In a written statement, IDSA President Michael Scheld said the organization does not oppose the federal government's interest in an anthrax vaccine. But, he said, ``We are concerned that if ... research funding is used for anthrax vaccine, that purchase will come at the expense of critical research grants in HIV and other infectious diseases.'' In his State of the Union address “State of the Union” redirects here. For other uses, see State of the Union (disambiguation). The State of the Union is an annual address in which the President of the United States reports on the status of the country, normally to a joint session of Congress (the , President Bush announced his plan to earmark $6 million for biological defense research as part of his proposed BioShield program. The House has approved $890 million this year for the program, but the Senate has so far declined to approve funding for it. Lisa Friedman, (202) 662-8731 lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com |
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