A single line often inverts meaning once you see what it
answers, so neighbouring messages are always shown.
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Oct. 18, 2005 - Flew Tokyo to Dulles Airport.
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Oct. 19, 2005 - "Intrigue" at the White House Upon return from SE Asia, we have just heard that the overall responsibility for Pandemic Influenza will be handed over to the Homeland Security Council (HSC) run by Fran Townsend. Also, DHS will be playing a more significant role. We believe that this relates to several factors: 1) the preparedness planning involves multiple agencies and so there is a need for a coordinating entity. 2) The WH is concerned about the fact that it has taken so long to get a plan out and now we realize that we need an Federal Plan (all agencies) as well as a National Plan (State, Local, Federal). 3) Anxiety about the failures of FEMA around Hurricane Katrina and the need to have centralized control over a potential disaster (in this case pandemic flu). 4) WH staff wanting to assert themselves Also, it is becoming more and more obvious how the Public Affairs people at HHS are trying to block Julie Gerberding and me from being out front with the Press. They keep intercepting requests by the Press for me and Julie to put the Secretary out there. This was seen in SE Asia and again is seen here. However, there is so much press going on that I am getting plenty. They are, however, sucking off the good offers that I get (network TV). In this regard, I am still doing a lot of CNN
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Oct. 19, 2005 - Incredible evening. U2 gave a concert at the MCI Center in D.C. Bono arranged for premier tickets for Chris and me. We met with Bono in the hospitality suite before the concert and exchanged warm hugs and discussions. Amazingly, in the middle of the concert in front of >25,000 people, Bono dedicated a song ("Miracle Drug") to me. He praised me and said that I was doing wonderful things for HIV/AIDS globally and then dedicated the song to me. After the concert, he invited Chris and me to a private reception at his hotel - The Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown - for drinks and discussion. Everyone was bussing that he dedicated a song to me. I thanked him and we discussed the need to keep up the PEPFAR program and make sure that we do not stop drugs in people because the program phases out. There is no sign that the Administration will phase the program out after the 5 years are up.
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Oct. 20, 2005 - Am wearing thn with exhaustion. No sooner did I return from SE Asia that I had to go to Chicago to receive the 2005 Scientist of the Year Award from R & D Magazine. Took place at a black tie affair at the Navy Pier in Chicago.
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2005-10-21 00:00
Anthony S. Fauci
Oct. 21, 2005 - Much press regarding trip and updating on pandemic flu. The whole world is getting exorcised. Chickens now infected in Russia, KazakstanChina, Romania, Turkey. Clearly, migratory birds are bringing the disease West. Was on CNN, C-SPAN, NPR, Bloomberg News, etc.
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Oct. 24 - 28, 2005 - Hectic week with bird flu and grand jury indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter Libby" for perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements in the er, and veil the investigation of the leak that Valerie Plame was a CIA agent. She is the husband of Jim Wilson who has been criticizing the war in Iraq. Oct. 24 - briefing by me , Julie, Bruce Gellin and Secretary Leavitt (MOL from here-on) of several cabinet members in the Cabinet Liaison Office in EEOB. Subject - pandemic flu. Oct. 25, 26 - Boston to deliver Baruj Benacerraf Lecture at Harvard and Dana Farber Cancer Center. Nice dinner at Harvey Cantor's house to celebrate Baruj's 85th birthday. Say Jenny in Cambridge after the dinner on Oct. 25. Wonderful time with my amazing daughter! Oct. 27 - continue briefing of Hill members. Briefed Tom DeLay, Steny Hoyer, and others. Incredible attention to pandemic flu in this country. Oct. 28 - Briefed Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. The POTUS will unveil the Pandemic Plan at NIH on Nov. 1. I have been doing considerable press.
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Nov. 1, 2005 - POTUS came to NIH to unveil the National Flu Pandemic Plan. Beustiful Fall day with crystal clear skies and temperature around 65-70. I along with Sec Leavitt, Elias Zerhouni, Julie Gerberding, and others greeted him as he arrived. During his speech he specifally thanked me for my work. Attending the speech in Natcher Auditorium were several Cabinet Secretaries including Coni Rice, Minetta, Mike Chertoff, Johanns among others. With the POTUS was Karl Rove, Fran Townsend among others. POTUS gave a good speech. Afterwards, I did a media blitch and appeared on CNN Wolf Blitzer, CNN Lou Dobbs, CBS Evening News, Charlie Rose and did many print and radio interviews. Ted Kennedy is concerned about the liability issue. He agrees that we should give liability protection to the pharmaceutical companies to keep them in the business of influenza vaccine manufacturing. However, he feels that we must also provide compensation for those that might be injured by the vaccine. He appealed to me to discuss this with the administration. He followed this up 2 days later by having his staffer (David Bowen) call me and get more advice from me about how they could tackle this problem.
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Nov. 2 - 3, 2005 - Testified with MOL, Julie G., Bruce Gellin, and Bill Raub at both the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees for HELP. We discussed the President's Plan as well as the more detailed HHS Pandemic Plan. We were generally well received, but there was the usual partisan skepticism on the part of the Democratic regarding the fact that the Plan asks the States to put up about 75% of the cost for a portion of the Tamiflu that would go to them. The point was made that the States do not have enough resources to do this. MOL makes the point that this is a co-pay situation similar to what is done for prescription drugs in Medicare and Medicaid. Much press. Big stuff going on with the indictment of Scooter Libby. The Democrats are trying to drag in the VP and the entire WH, claiming that there was a wide conspiracy to cover-up the fact that the WH distorted intelligence to get us into a war with Iraq and that Joe Wilson was smeared by outing his CIA wife in order to get back at him for disagreeing with the evidence used for going to war with Iraq.
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Nov. 3, 2005 - Top secret meeting at EEOB regarding conduct of certain experiments in the area of developing countermeasures. Cannot elaborate because of top secret nature of discussions. More press regarding Pandemic flu plan.