TheSenate Appropriations Committee on Thursday unanimously voted toinclude $1.5 billion in pandemic preparedness in a defense andforeign aid spending bill. The move comes in the wake of the recentswine flu wave, and amidst revelations that lawmakers removed nearly$900 million in flu pandemic preparedness funding from the recentstimulus package.

Democratshad removed $870 million in flu pandemic funding from the AmericanReinvestment and Recovery Act in order to gain support fromRepublicans, who generally opposed the measure due to its high cost.Once the swine flu began infecting thousands of people around theworld, lawmakers raced to re-fund the program. And though themajority of cases of swine flu thus far have been considered mild,World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan Fridaywarned against a false sense of security, suggesting that the worstmight not be over. Many epidemiologists and public health officialsare predicting a resurgence of the H1N1 (swine flu) strain ofinfluenza this fall.

Alsoon Friday, President Obama named New York City Health CommissionerDr. Thomas Frieden to the top spot at the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention. Frieden will assume his new role in June. In additionto crusading for healthcare change in New York City, Frieden is alsoa renowned expert on infectious disease.