The National Biodefense Science Board (NBSB) will be holding meetings on March 29, 2012, and April 30, 2012 to review and evaluate the 2012 Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) Strategy and Implementation Plan (SIP).
The purpose of the 2012 PHEMCE Strategy is to establish goals and key objectives necessary to ensure that the nation has the ability to effectively develop, stockpile, deploy, utilize and sustain the medical countermeasures required to protect the nation from a wide spectrum of threats, including both intentional and naturally occurring threats, such as emerging infectious diseases and pandemic influenza.
The closed sessions will occur by teleconference and will not be open to the public. Until a final document is approved by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the development of PHEMCE SIP requires consideration and discussion of procurement-sensitive information on critical medical countermeasures that the government feels should not be released to the public prior to the Secretary’s final decision.
The National Biodefense Science Board (NBSB) was created under the authority of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, signed into law in late 2006. The NBSB was established to provide expert advice and guidance to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on scientific, technical, and other matters of special interest to HHS regarding activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to adverse health effects of public health emergencies resulting from chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological events; and to provide advice and guidance to the Secretary on other matters related to public health emergency preparedness and response.
The NBSB has 13 voting members with a broad range of expertise in science, medicine, and public health. Additionally, there are non-voting ex officio members, as deemed appropriate by the Secretary.
All public materials will be posted on the NBSB Web site at www.phe.gov/nbsb. The public may submit input by emailing NBSB@HHS.GOV with “NBSB Public Comment” as the subject line.
