\n\n“But it\u2019s one thing to come up with a vaccine, and entirely something else to manufacture it on a mass scale. That\u2019s where the world has stumbled and where concerted planning now can make sure we\u2019re prepared for the future. If we\u2019re to have a better chance to fight the next pandemic \u2014 and there will be a next one \u2014 the US needs to build on these vaccine tech innovations and make investments to establish permanent facilities producing mRNA and adenovirus vaccines.”
…
“that slack won\u2019t arrive naturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weber, the former assistant secretary of defense for biodefense, has pushed for what he dubs a \u201c10 + 10 Over 10\u201d plan<\/a> to prevent biological threats in the future<\/a>. It is essentially a big government investment that could enable the kind of infrastructure necessary to have gotten to full vaccine availability in the US in, say, one or two months, not five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The plan calls for $10 billion in additional annual funding for the Department of Defense, and another $10 billion per year for the Department of Health and Human Services, devoted to anticipating pandemic and other biological risks, for at least 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With that funding, government could finance the infrastructure for year-round vaccine manufacture.” …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The key is that these facilities need to be active during non-pandemic times, otherwise their expertise and readiness could deteriorate.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Pharmaceutical companies are not going to go this big on their own, and there\u2019s no guarantee that the government will fund them sufficiently without pressure. In 2020 \u2014 during the pandemic \u2014 the Trump administration\u00a0cut the DOD\u2019s chemical and biodefense programs by 10 percent<\/a>, with much of the cuts going to the vaccine component of the budget. To set this vision in motion, the US needs to not just reverse cuts like that but spend much more, in line with Weber\u2019s $20 billion per year proposal.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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