Congress looks to reauthorize pandemic program as flu cases swell

Congress is preparing to build on a law aimed at preventing and responding to pandemics just as the flu season is swelling in the U.S. and ways to address it are falling short.

The law, the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act, or PAHPA, is up for its third reauthorization in the fall. It originally passed in 2006, soon after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Gulf Coast and a strain of bird flu was spreading across Europe and Asia. The law aimed to better organize the ways that federal, state, and local departments respond to outbreaks and disasters, including by working with healthcare facilities, encouraging vaccine development, and boosting the number of healthcare workers.