Joe Lieberman

Excellent. Thank you very much.

I find that logic to be suspect.

I appreciate it, and we'll have some good questions for you.

So the plan is, because of that unpredictability, although somewhat informed by experience, that the manufacturing facilities are going to continue to turn out the vaccine, and the country is going to continue to urge people, particularly…

I appreciate very much that was done.

This is very important to the Committee not only because of the concern that influenza epidemics and pandemics will continue in the years ahead--you are right, we cannot expect to wait another 30 years--but also, of course, because of our…

To the extent that you can find that out--you have other things to do--I would appreciate just having an answer to that for the record.

I would say it depends. I think certainly throughout the rest of this or until things even out...

I honestly believe, looking back, that CDC or HHS... should have just nationally said...

I think we have been taking this very seriously, so the numbers were expected for me.

Look, bottom line what I continue to be concerned about is that after it became clear that the manufacturers were not going to deliver the number of vaccine doses that we expected.

But I honestly believe, looking back, that CDC or HHS... should have just nationally said...

I worry that we are undermining confidence generally in our public health system.

I was surprised, 22 million illnesses, 98,000 hospitalizations, more than 3,900 deaths, including, as we said, about 540 children.

So no new problems within the manufacturing chain.

I think this is a case really where it would have been better to have a national answer...

I want to thank the three of you for your testimony this morning and go back to the beginning and thank you for the work that you have done since this H1N1 virus appeared and broke out in April of this year.

Thanks, Senator Kirk.

I want to say frankly to you this morning that I am concerned, as we meet this morning, that the flu is spreading so rapidly and in some cases with such intensity that it may well be getting ahead of the Federal Government's ability and…

I hope that you and she together will go back and look at this and try to draw some lessons from it so that some of the great things that have been done here do not for some reason end up causing the kind of frustration and anxiety that…

Another way it has been helpful to have people on site...is to have representatives from State and local health departments...

So the small number of cases is good to hear but do you have it at UConn now?

Physicians treating critically ill patients with H1N1 influenza will soon have access to new antiviral drugs supported by HHS/BARDA and administered intravenously under a CDC-sponsored Emergency Use Authorization.

The vaccines are working, of course.

Thank you very much, Secretary Duncan. Very helpful information.