Tulsa Senator to Author Oklahoma Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Act

Senator Tom Adelson announced Thursday that he will author legislation this coming session to ensure that Oklahoma is better prepared to deal with an influenza pandemic in coming years.

Adelson said his legislation will call on the Oklahoma Department of Health to assume greater responsibility for adequately stockpiling antiviral drugs and not rely on the federal government as its sole provider.

“It may be necessary for the Health Department to go out on the world market and find antiviral medications to protect Oklahomans in the case of an influenza pandemic,” Adelson said.

The Senator said that the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) predicts that there is a strong likelihood of an avian flu outbreak in the next few years. In preparation for the pandemic, the CDC has adopted a Pandemic Influenza Management Plan, which requires individual states to purchase a limited supply of vaccines and influenza drugs from the federal government.

Adelson, who served as Governor Henry’s Secretary of Health before being elected to the Senate last year, said the federal government has only enough oseltamivir (Tamiflu) treatment courses for approximately 1 percent of the population. According to the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the national stockpile should be expanded to treat at least 25 percent and ideally 40 percent of the population.

Oklahoma’s share of antiviral medications provided by the federal government under its pandemic plan would be insufficient to meet the needs of Oklahomans requiring treatment and/or prophylaxis if a severe pandemic occurred in the near future, the Tulsa Democrat said.

“Since hurricane Katrina, the ability of the federal government to provide an effective level of preparedness in case of emergency has been questioned,” Adelson said. “I don’t understand why our federal government has only managed to stockpile antiviral medications for 1 percent of the population.

Meanwhile, France, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and other countries have national stockpiles for over 20 percent of their populations.”

“In the wake of the federal government’s failure to accumulate adequate stockpiles of antiviral drugs, the State of Oklahoma has a duty to procure for its citizens additional supplies, which may be available in the global market.

“The state has the highest obligation to its citizens to ensure their safety and security and cannot rely upon a federal vaccine and influenza distribution plan that arbitrarily limits the supply of medications based upon population. Other countries will not tolerate similar shortages, and we should take the lead in protecting the citizens of our state.”