As part of President Bush´s plan to mobilize the nation and prepare for an influenza pandemic, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt today announced an additional $225 million in funding for state and local preparedness.

“Earlier this year HHS joined the nation’s governors for a series of state pandemic influenza summits,” Secretary Leavitt said. “These funds will build on the work begun at the summits and help local, tribal, territorial and state public health officials as they undertake critical preparedness planning that communities must do themselves.”

Today’s funding announcement is part of $350 million included in recent emergency appropriations for upgrading state and local pandemic influenza preparedness passed by Congress in December. In February, the first phase of $100 million was awarded to states for planning and exercising of pandemic response plans and to identify gaps in preparedness.

This second phase of funding is being awarded to begin addressing those identified gaps in pandemic influenza preparedness planning. The grants will be awarded to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, three local jurisdictions (New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles County), five U.S. Territories and three Freely Associated States of the Pacific.

A table outlining what funds will be available for eligible jurisdictions is available at http://www.pandemicflu.gov/news/allocation.html. More information on pandemic influenza preparedness efforts is online at www.pandemicflu.gov.