Wondering Why All This Matters?

A draft of the President's plan to combat the H5N1 strain of influenza estimates that upwards of 2 million people could become infected and more than 200,000 would die. (ABCNews.com)

The plan calls spending $7.1 billion to fight the disease:

The request includes $251 million to detect and contain outbreaks before they spread around the world; $2.8 billion to accelerate development of cell-culture technology; $800 million for development of new treatments and vaccines; $1.519 billion for the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense to purchase influenza vaccines; $1.029 billion to stockpile antiviral medications; and $644 million to ensure that all levels of government are prepared to respond to a pandemic outbreak. (White House Fact Sheet)

Since release this draft of the report, the government has set up a website to help the country prepare for the disease. http://www.pandemicflu.gov/