Budget cuts have forced state and local health departments to cut thousands of health officials making monitoring more difficult.
The result is state labs that conduct tests for nerve agents or chemical agents such as mustard gas, have less ability to rapidly distribute vaccines during emergencies.
Biological warfare is more of a threat than during the post 9/11 preparedness.
“Our concern this year is that because of the economic crisis… we may not be as prepared today as we were a couple of years ago,” he said.
Once lost, medical capabilities take time and money to rebuild, the report says.
“It would be like trying to hire and train firefighters in the middle of a fire,” Levi said. “You don’t do that for fire protection, and we shouldn’t be doing that for public health protection.”
