Diary Prequel Package — page 73

Feb. 14 - Mar. 2 - I have been leading (with Stew Simonson and occasionally Mark McClellan (FDA) many, many briefings of senators, Congressmen and staffers on Project BioShield. The WH has proposed our legislation. Zerhouni is acting extremely insecure and (I believe) inappropriate regarding the mentioning of NIAID in the authorizing legislation for BioShield. He and Stew and having a terrible fight since Stew insists that NIAID remain in the language. I am trying not to get caught in the middle. A few days ago, I presented the Jimmy and Rossalyn Carter Award of the NFID to former Congressman John Porter. Mar. 3, 2003 - Had dinner with Senator Bill Frist in his Majority Leader's Office in the Capitol. He regularly (on Mondays) brings together people with whom he likes to discuss various topics. This time it was bioterrorism. Besides me was Herb Pardes, Mark Halperin (NBC News), Stuart Taylor (Editor, National Journal), Georges Benjamin (Director, American Public Health Assoc), Bill Madia (Oak Ridge), Rev. Anthony Davis (Director, DC Black Church Initiative), Michael Byrne (Dept. of Homeland Security, Coordinator for DC, MD, and VA) and Ginny Wolfe (Counselor to Sen. Frist). Mar. 3 - 10, 2003 - Many briefings on Project BioShield. Most recent on Mar. 10 at the White House with the usual cast of people, i.e. Kristen Silverberg, Ken Bernard, Carol Kuntz, Stew Simonson, Tom Reilly (OMB), some people from DHS and OMB. Mar. 12, 2003 - Conference call with me connected to about 50 industry people organized by John Kelly of PhRMA to explain BioShield to them. Always a concern about anti-trust laws and so the General Counsel for PhRMA (Ken Ewing) made sure that no questions were asked by industry that would violate this. 2003 March 12 Teleconference on Pr Stewart Simonson told me yesterday that he resigned because of serious clash with Jerry Hauer. I offered him a job at NIAID that he was very moved by. Got a call today that Secretary Thompson insisted that he does not resign. Stew gave in to TGT. Mar. 13 - 16, 2003 - We are getting closer to war with Iraq. The French, Germans, and Russians are threatening to block any attempt on the part of the USA to have the UN pass a resolution that if Iraq does not immediately comply with Resolution 1441 and disarm, the UN will use force to disarm them. USA, Britain and Spain may go it alone. I am extremely concerned about the appearance in Asia (Hong Kong, Quangdong Province in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore of a mysterious acute respiratory syndrome. Thus far 400 people, 150 in last week, 9 deaths. We have no idea what it is, but the attack rate nosocomially is very high. More than 30 health workers in Hanoi got infected from a single patient. Many people on respirators. The new disease is called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). On evening of March 16, had a great dinner at Galileo's in DC. Host was Bono who is in town to receive an award on St. Patrick's day (March 17). Small dinner at which Bono paid very kind tribute to me for putting together the President's Emergency