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The National Antiviral Stockpile (NAS) is a federal Government of Canada response to the needs of the health care system in case of an emergency. It is a responsibility of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). [1]
The NAS was begun immediately after the SARS pandemic that hit hospitals in Toronto particularly hard. While province of Ontario SARS Commissioner Justice Archie Campbell refrained from issuing any recommendations to form a stockpile, such need existed in the mind of the Martin government, who tasked their newly-instantiated Chief Public Health Officer of Canada with its roll-out. In the event, Dr David Butler-Jones performed the task.
The NAS anticipates a pandemic and therefore procures antiviral health supplies. The Federal Budget 2006 allocated $600 million for general pandemic planning and preparedness activities, such as the NAS: [1]
In collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, the federal government created the National Antiviral Stockpile in the fall of 2004. The National Antiviral Stockpile is a federal/provincial/territorial government-controlled supply of antiviral drugs: enough to treat 17.5 percent of the Canadian population. The National Antiviral Stockpile is held in provincial/territorial warehouses; the provinces and territories are responsible for the implementation of the national antiviral strategy and distribution of antiviral drugs from the National Antiviral Stockpile in their jurisdictions. Antivirals in this stockpile are used for early treatment in an emergency, targeting those who are deemed to be most at risk of serious morbidity and mortality. It was agreed that antivirals would be distributed on a per capita basis to the provinces and territories, each of which would have responsibility for care and control under the terms of a national agreement for use.
Medicare is an unofficial designation used to refer to the publicly funded, single-payer health care system of Canada. Canada's health care system consists of 13 provincial and territorial health insurance plans that provide universal health care coverage to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and certain temporary residents. These systems are individually administered on a provincial or territorial basis, within guidelines set by the federal government. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.
The Canada Health Act (CHA) is a piece of Government of Canada legislation, adopted in 1984, which specifies the conditions and criteria with which the provincial and territorial health insurance programs must conform in order to receive federal transfer payments under the Canada Health Transfer. These criteria require universal coverage of all insured services.
Healthcare in Canada is delivered through the provincial and territorial systems of publicly funded health care, informally called Medicare. It is guided by the provisions of the Canada Health Act of 1984, and is universal. The 2002 Royal Commission, known as the Romanow Report, revealed that Canadians consider universal access to publicly funded health services as a "fundamental value that ensures national health care insurance for everyone wherever they live in the country."
The Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), originally called the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile (NPS), is the United States' national repository of antibiotics, vaccines, chemical antidotes, antitoxins, and other critical medical supplies. As its website states:
"The Strategic National Stockpile's role is to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies. Many states have products stockpiled, as well. The supplies, medicines, and devices for life-saving care contained in the stockpile can be used as a short-term stopgap buffer when the immediate supply of adequate amounts of these materials may not be immediately available."
The Public Health Agency of Canada is an agency of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, emergency preparedness and response, and infectious and chronic disease control and prevention.
The Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, also known as the Romanow Report, is a committee study led by Roy Romanow on the future of health care in Canada. It was delivered in November 2002.
The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System is Canada's national workplace hazard communication standard. The key elements of the system, which came into effect on October 31, 1988, are cautionary labelling of containers of WHMIS controlled products, the provision of material safety data sheets (MSDSs) and worker education and site-specific training programs.
The National Search and Rescue Program (NSP) is the name given by the Government of Canada to the collective search and rescue (SAR) activities in Canada. Until 2015, the NSP was administered by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS).
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority(BARDA) is a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) office responsible for the procurement and development of medical countermeasures, principally against bioterrorism, including chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats, as well as pandemic influenza and emerging diseases. BARDA was established in 2006 through the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) and reports to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). The office manages Project BioShield, which funds the research, development and stockpiling of vaccines and treatments that the government could use during public health emergencies such as chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attacks.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the United States Department of Health and Human Services was created under the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to lead the nation in preventing, preparing for, and responding to the adverse health effects of public health emergencies and disasters. ASPR focuses on preparedness planning and response; building federal emergency medical operational capabilities; countermeasures research, advance development, and procurement; and grants to strengthen the capabilities of hospitals and health care systems in public health emergencies and medical disasters. The office provides federal support, including medical professionals through ASPR’s National Disaster Medical System, to augment state and local capabilities during an emergency or disaster.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton is a rescue coordination centre operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).
The Hospital Insurance and Diagnostic Services Act (HIDS) is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1957 that reimbursed one-half of provincial and territorial costs for hospital and diagnostic services administered under provincial and territorial health insurance programs. Originally implemented on July 1, 1958, with five participating provinces, by January 1, 1961, all ten provinces were enlisted. The federal funding was coupled with terms and conditions borrowed from the Saskatchewan Hospital Services Plan, introduced in 1947 as the first universal hospital insurance program in North America. In order to receive funding, services had to be universal, comprehensive, accessible and portable. This stipulation was dropped in 1977 with the Established Programs Financing Act and then reinstated in 1984 in the Canada Health Act. Widely acknowledged as the foundation for future developments in the Canadian health care system, the HIDS Act was a landmark example of federal-provincial cooperation in post-war Canada.
The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013 is a law enacted by the 113th United States Congress. The Act amends the Public Health Service Act in order to extend, fund, and improve several programs designed to prepare the United States and health professionals in the event of a pandemic, epidemic, or biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear accident or attack. The Act clarifies the authority of different American officials, makes it easier to temporarily reassign personnel to respond to emergency situations, and alters the process for testing and producing medical countermeasures. The Act is focused on improving preparedness for any public health emergency.
The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPAI) is legislation introduced and passed by the U.S. Congress in 2019 that aims to improve the nation's preparation and response to public health threats, including both natural threats and deliberate man-made threats.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Canada on January 27, 2020, after an individual who had returned to Toronto from Wuhan, Hubei, China, tested positive.
Planning and preparing for pandemics has happened in countries and international organizations. The World Health Organization writes recommendations and guidelines, though there is no sustained mechanism to review countries' preparedness for epidemics and their rapid response abilities. National action depends on national governments. In 2005–2006, prior to the 2009 swine flu pandemic and during the decade following it, the governments in the United States, France, UK and others managed strategic health equipment stocks, but often reduced stocks after the 2009 pandemic in order to reduce costs.
Greg Burel is the former director (2010-2020) of the United States Strategic National Stockpile, which proved to be a critical component of the U.S. federal response to the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic.
Various Special Advisory Committees (SAC) are formed on an ad-hoc basis in Canadian government circles, especially public health as governed by the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The National Emergency Stockpile System (NESS) is a federal Government of Canada response to the needs of the health care system in case of an emergency. It is a responsibility of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
Canada's Pandemic Influenza Plan was released most recently in 2017 by the Canadian Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (CPIP) Task Group. It is available as an periodically-updated webpage. It is available in pdf format.