Richard Burr: “we have several minutes remaining before we move on. I take this opportunity to assure the minority leader that I was in…”

“we have several minutes remaining before we move on. I take this opportunity to assure the minority leader that I was in the same briefing. I think all Members were somewhat shocked at some of the things we heard. This is a Member who was not shocked because I have been charged as a subcommittee chairman since the beginning of the year with looking at all the aspects of this. I read daily the international press reports of how many new cases of avian flu, in what country, how many humans have contracted it from an animal source, how many humans potentially have contracted it from another human. The reality is this is something that from a committee standpoint we keep up with. We understand the sense of urgency. I plead with my colleagues that the answer is not to throw money at the threat. It is to have a comprehensive plan where research and the investment for that research pays off in countermeasures to protect the American people. Senator Harkin described very well that what is H5N1 avian flu in most of Southeast Asia today, by the time it travels, whether it is by humans or potentially by wild birds, the mutations that may take place might make irrelevant any vaccine that is produced today and antivirals that exist today, used to treat it might have potentially less than a satisfactory effect. Without a system that invests in research and development, how in the world do we expect new antiviral drugs and new vaccines to be produced?…”