Posted on: Friday, June 7, 2002

$8 million to fight bioterrorism threat

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

State officials received confirmation yesterday that Hawai'i is receiving $8.4 million in federal money for bioterrorism preparedness and improvements to its emergency response systems.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had previously earmarked the amount for the state, but Hawai'i is among only 24 states to get the full allocation.

"So we did write a very good plan," said state Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo.

Federal officials announced in January that $1.1 billion in grants was being made available for bioterrorism planning after the attacks on New York and anthrax outbreaks on the East Coast.

A total of $1.5 million was used as a baseline for each state, with the rest to be distributed with HHS approval of each state's plan.

"This funding gives Hawai'i an unprecedented opportunity to improve upon our ability to respond to threats of bioterrorism and at the same time strengthen our public health infrastructure," state Health Director Bruce Anderson said.

Okubo said the money will be spent as follows: 26 percent for expansion of the state lab in Pearl City for improved diagnosis of biohazards like anthrax; 16 percent for infectious disease surveillance; 15 percent for information technology; 5 percent for risk communication; 13 percent for clinician training and education; 25 percent for overall planning.

Anderson said the moneywill be used in partnerships developed with the counties, and state and community agencies such as the University of Hawai'i and Red Cross.