By Bob Graham and Jim Talent - 06/11/09 02:45 PM ET

The 2009 H1N1 swine flu epidemic should remind Americans of two important truths: Mother Nature is full of surprises, and preparation matters.The fact is, the United States is not doing enough to prepare for disease emergencies, either natural or deliberate. We should immediately commit to doing more: by innovating drug and vaccine development; increasing funding for public health and hospital readiness; and improving international cooperation surveillance and response. Over the last several years, the U.S. government has prepared extensively for an avian influenza pandemic by forging partnerships with the private sector to manufacture vaccines and funding university scientists to pursue influenza research. Instead of avian flu, however, this time we were surprised with a different kind of influenza virus. Wasted effort? No, the preparation was well worth it. Americans can rely on the millions of doses of effective antiviral medicines stockpiled whether treating avian or swine flu, and we can now make new flu vaccine in a matter of months. We are becoming more innovative in our ability to respond to future flu outbreaks, as those investments in new technologies and vaccine manufacturing bear fruit. Read the rest of this entry »