On Jun. 15, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the nations’s updated Pandemic Planning report.

In 2005, the HHS developed the HHS Pandemic Influenza Plan to prevent, control, and mitigate the effects of influenza viruses that pose high risk to humans. Influenza viruses, of which there are many types, can cause rapid, widespread disease and death. Pandemic influenza outbreaks in the 20th Century alone left tens of millions of people dead in their wake and cost hundreds of billions of dollars in lost lives, wages, productivity and economic devastation. Influenza viruses with pandemic potential require the rapid development, production and availability of medical countermeasures (MCMs) such as vaccines, diagnostics and antiviral drugs to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, as well as additional
preparedness and response efforts beyond medical countermeasures.

The original 2005 Plan consisted of four key pandemic response elements. The 2017 Update builds upon goals elaborated in the 2005 Plan and, using evolving science and budget priorities, identifies domains, goals, objectives, and key actions to serve as planning guides for the next decade.