How about using funds for some important projects such as those below in the US. Such projects would really serve to benefit the community in the event of an outbreak.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government's work to prevent an influenza pandemic
took on a more academic look Monday when it selected six universities and
medical centers to help lead research efforts.
The Department of
Health and Human Services will spend $23 million a year
for the next seven years to establish six Centers of Excellence for Influenza
Research and Surveillance.
The centers will research how flu
viruses evolve and adapt. They'll also
identify factors that determine whether a
virus causes mild illness or death,
and they'll determine the prevalence of bird flu in animals that come in close
contact with people.
"The threat of an influenza pandemic is a major source of concern for the
public health community," said Dr. Anthony Fauci,
director of the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci said the centers will help the federal government's efforts in
monitoring the virus and generating the tools necessary to prepare and respond
to a pandemic.
The six new centers are: St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis,
the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Minnesota, Emory
University, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and the University of
Rochester in Rochester, N.Y.