Diary Prequel Package — page 304

insulting and we will have to see how this plays out and how we should push back on this. Jan. 12, 2013 - Did WJLA - Channel 8 news on flu on this Saturday AM. Also, received request that Soledad O'Brien wants me again on her show on Monday AM. This will be the test regarding my above comment concerning Bill Hall. Jan. 14, 2013 - HHS turned me down on requests from CNN Wolf Blitzer and Soledad O'Brien. I asked John Burklow to call up Bill Hall and find out what the heck is going on and what the reason for all of this is. John told me that CDC complained to Bill Hall and HHS that I was getting all of the publicity on an issue (influenza "tracking") that they considered was their issue. I do not know who at CDC did this. It could be anyone from Tom Frieden (I doubt this) to more likely Tom Skinner (CDC PR person). In any event, it has nothing to do with my use of the word "epidemic" on Wolf Blitzer Show and everything to do with pure jealousy that I am a "rock star' stealing their thunder. Shame on the CDC. Bill Hall promised John Burklow that as the epidemic stabilizes, I will be allowed to do the big shows and that starting now, I can do anything that has to do with the science and vaccine development. In this regard, see below - tomorrow Jan. 15, 2013 - Appeared on the "Situation Room" (CNN) in a piece that featured the quest for a universal flu vaccine. I did the interview from the NIAID Vaccine Research Center. John Mascola also appeared as we showed the CNN crew around the VRC. Very nice piece. Tomorrow I do a 1 hour call in show on WTOP. Jan. 16, 2013 - Did a very successful 1 hour show with call-in on WTOP at 10:00 to 11:00 AM. Rainy day in Washington, D.C. Also, local NBC News and WUSA Channel 29 filmed me during the radio show and I gave on camera interview to them after the show. Jan. 17-23, 2013 - As expected, due to the beginning of drop-off of influenza cases, even though we are in the middle of the influenza season, the press interest has almost completely dropped off the radar screen. Almost no stories this week on the 2012-2013 influenza outbreak. Jan. 23, 2013 - The "60 day moratorium" on gain-of-function research on respiratory transmission of HPAI H5N1 influenza in mammals has been lifted by the scientists who originally signed to moratorium. The moratorium actually lasted just over one full year. We at HHS and NIH have been developing a framework for making funding decisions for this type of research (see above - Dec. 17, 2013). The framework should be ready for implementation in a few weeks and so we can start making funding decisions. Much press coverage today (I was in NY Times, Wall Street Journal, AP, etc.). The nay-sayers who feel this research should not be done at all (David Relman, John Roberts (Nobel Prize winning ass-hole) or should not be published (Mike Osterholm) are still out there bad-mouthing the decision to lift the moratorium. Jan. 25, 2013 - Appeared on CNN "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer to discuss the ongoing breakout of norovirus in the USA. Good interview. There are about 20