It was November 1 2005. President Bush laid out a federal plan to tackle the risk of an influenza pandemic in a 30 minute speech before six cabinet secretaries, top US health officials, and World Health Organization and United Nations’ directors. The plan the President set in motion was vast, and expensive. His initial vision came with a $7 billion price tag, and some inside his staff thought this was a low priority. In the wake of 9/11, with war taking place, some felt that preparing for something that wasn’t at our doorstep was foolish. But President Bush said:”If we wait for a pandemic to appear, it will be too late to prepare. And one day many lives could be needlessly lost because we failed to act today.”
Here is an excerpt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spcj6KUr4aA
Barak Obama issued a similar warning ten years later https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBVAnaHxHbM
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