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ov> CG: _ Lawrence (NIH/OD) [E] .gov>:; Wolinetz, Carrie (NIH/OD) [E] ih. gov> > Subject: POTUS meeting =] > Hi Tony, > > Another strange chapter. Sec. Azar and I are supposed to meet with the POTUS in the Oval on Tuesday at 1:30 PM, but there is no information about the agenda. Apparently POTUS asked for this meeting to be set up, but no one in the WH seems to know why. > > Alex is trying to guess what this might be about: one possibility might be the universal flu vaccine, since Bill Gates recently spoke to the POTUS about that. See https://www.statnews.com/2018/04/30/bill-gates-vaccine-trump-meeting/ for the report on this conversation. (By the way, I'm surprised that Bill seems to be promoting this idea of the universal flu vaccine as if the US government hasn't been properly focused on it -- surely he knows about all the work that NIH has been doing, and about the current strategic plan? And how could his promised $12M add much to the much larger investment NIAID is making? Is this coordinated in some way, or is Bill going rogue?) > > Alex indicated that Gates had apparently told the POTUS that $5-6 billion was really needed to prepare for a worldwide flu pandemic. I'm not sure where that number comes from. The specific question that Alex thought might come up on Tuesday is what the funding trajectory is that's really needed if the preparation of the universal flu vaccine was to be considered the highest priority for the nation. > > What's the answer to that? > > Glad to speak by phone if that would make this easier. I > > Francis > > P.S. Can I borrow your 3D printed model of the hemagglutinin protein, in case that turns out to be relevant? > > -----Original Message-----