A single line often inverts meaning once you see what it
answers, so neighbouring messages are always shown.
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Feb. 11, 2010 - HHS team briefs Secretary Sebelius over the phone. She is smart, but clueless about what all this means. Nicki Lurie is inarticulate in explaining it to her. Nonetheless Heidi is going to give it a go with the POTUS even though she is terribly frustrated with the HHS people except for me. My time has been totally consumed with this despite the shutdown of everything with the snow.
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Feb. 12, 2010 - Meet with the POTUS from 2:00 to 3:00 in the Situation Room. Richard and Heidi present and the HHS team answered questions. I was not shy in telling the PTUS what I thought. He said "Are we making this more complicated than it should we? Why not contract out for the relatively limited number of countermeasures that we have Intel. On that could be threats". I reminded him that in his SOTU address he said that we would develop an initiative to counter all threats to public health even naturally emerging infections. I then told him that the dual use and new platform technologies were essential to get industry involved since they would not take the investment risk unless we helped them with the technology, etc. He agreed. He recognized who I was without even an introduction and called me "Tony". All in all, the meeting went well and he said that he endorsed the plan. Parenthetically, The traffic was horrible getting to the WH via the GW parkway by Taxi. I took a taxi because the METRO Red Line shut down due to a derailment. Stressful getting there, but great to have 1 hour face time with the POTUS. This is now the 5th POTUS that I have personally advised via serious face-time.
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Feb. 15-17, 2010 - Went to annual CROI meeting in San Francisco. Gave Opening Session Plenary on "The HIV/AIDS Research Agenda: A View from NIAID". Gave a bold and provocative talk about the high risk, high impact, potential "game-changer" research that we plan to do over the next few years. The 3 "pillars" of this research are 1) Aggressively seek, test and treat infected individuals. However, the math tells us that the treatment paradigm in a vacuum will never end the AIDS pandemic since more people get infected than get put on treatment. Hence we need to do something different such as getting people who are on therapy off therapy by developing a 2) CURE for HIV - tough challenge. Also we need to 3) Prevent new infections by a) ARVs as prevention - ARV containing microbicides; PrEP; test and treat; and b) vaccine. Beautiful days in SF. Stayed at the Westin St. Francis. Many people said that it was the best and most inspiring talk that I have ever given - "bold and challenging". On Feb. 17, I briefed by teleconference the PCAST working group about the POTUS initiative and gave them background info. On the call were co-chairs Harold Varmus and Eric Lander. Also, David Baltimore, Ed Penhoelt, Emilio Emini, Harvey Fineberg, among others.
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Feb. 18, 2010 - Another meeting at the Sit Room of the WH from 4:00 to 5:30 PM with Heidi Avery and the "team". Getting ready for the various meetings next week of IOM (Secretary's review), PCAST, and National Biodefense Science Board (NBSB). I brought up that reports from these other meetings may confuse people regarding the POTUS's initiative to transform PHEMCE. Heidi will likely let the other meeting happen, incorporate some ideas from them and still have the POTUS initiative be the driving force of policy. During the day prior to the WH had a visit from Rick Klausner. I had been talking to Rock about these issue for awhile and he is very much in agreement with my stand on how we need to transform the way the USG interacts with industry in the development of products.
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2010-02-23 00:00
Anthony S. Fauci
Feb. 23, 2010 - Continued activity in trying to dissect out what went right and/or wrong with the response to H1N1 flu. Still considerable tension between Heidi Avery who wants s "to transform" the system and make some leaps and the slow, careful (and actually incompetent) response of the HHS people. Had the PHEMCE review led by Nicki Lurie under the auspices of the IOM. Held at the House of Sweden on 2900 K street by the Georgetown Waterfront. I presented a lively endorsement of the Avery plan. L felt that it made the HHS people nervous. This reminds me of 25 years ago when I was pushing HHS to accept the AIDS activists and they were conservatively reluctant. They are not bold at all.
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Feb. 25, 2010 - As per the "review", a PCAST meeting c--chaired by Harold Varmus and Eric Lander was held at the Carnegie Institution on 1530 P Street, N.W. with David Baltimore, Tom Monath, Robert Coffman, Emilio Emini and others present. Their purpose was to look at the response to H1N1 and report back to the POTUS. I presented my theme of the absolute importance of developed a new paradigm of close interaction between USG and industry whereby USG pushes and shares to risk of developing innovative technologies (new platforms for vaccines and drugs) that industry can use for their own profits while the USG then has it available to respond to public health threats (existing, emerging and deliberate). I was very well received.
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March 1, 2010 - Regular Monday evening meeting in the Situation Room of the White House led by Heidi Avery with the usual cast of characters. Still inertia on HHS part and agitation by Heidi. Couple of days later (~ March 3 or 4) Heidi called me at home at around 10:00 AM very discouraged at the inertia and lack of imagination of HHS people, particularly Peggy Hamburg, Nicki Lurie and Jess Goodman. Asked for my help in getting the initiative going or she even said that it might be hopeless with this cast of characters. She felt that Nicki was in over her head and that she was afraid of losing her command of the situation instead of capitalizing on what Heidi wants to do. Heidi also feels that Peggy is missing the big picture and that Jesse is hopelessly garbled in his thought and expression. I will try to help her by formulating a plan with her to get this initiative rolling.
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March 5, 2010 - Gave my yearly talk to the Zuckernman Fellows led by Mort Zuckerman and David Gergen. Then had the usual receptions that evening at Ronald and Beth Dozoretz's home at 3005 45th Street, N.W. (right around the block from my house. Usual stars were there - Sonya Sotamayor, Desiree Rogers (Social Secretary at the WH), Justice Breyer, Dave Gergen, Wolf Blitzer, Andrea Mitchell, etc/
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March 6, 2010 - Under the continued generosity of Wayne and Catherine Reynolds to Chris and me, we were their guests at the premier showing of the Opera "War and Peace" at the Opera House of the Kennedy Center. Special elegant dinner before hand in the Atrium followed by the opera. Guests were the usual DC lists of famous people: few examples - Gen James Jones, Sen. Tom Daschle, Marcus Brauchli (editor of Washington Post), many media people - Dana Priest, Wolf Blitzer, Sam Donaldson, etc. Long opera! lon Auditorium on