[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 116 (Monday, June 17, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 36191]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14326]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Meeting of the National Biodefense Science Board

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human 
Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: As stipulated by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services is hereby giving notice that 
the National Biodefense Science Board (NBSB) will be holding a public 
meeting via teleconference. This notice is being published under 
exceptional circumstances and provides the reason for providing less 
than 15 calendar days notice. The meeting is open to the public.

DATES: The NBSB will hold a public meeting on June 25, 2013 from 1:00 
p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST. The agenda is subject to change as priorities 
dictate.

ADDRESSES: Individuals who wish to participate should send an email to 
[email protected] with ``NBSB Registration'' in the subject line. The 
meeting will occur by teleconference. To attend, call 1-888-455-0056, 
and enter passcode 9790185. Please call 15 minutes prior to the 
beginning of the conference call to facilitate attendance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The National Biodefense Science Board 
mailbox: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 319M of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d-7f) and section 222 of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 217a), the Department of Health and Human 
Services established the National Biodefense Science Board. The NBSB 
shall provide expert advice and guidance to the Secretary on 
scientific, technical, and other matters of special interest to the 
Department of Health and Human Services regarding current and future 
chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological agents, whether 
naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate. The NBSB may also 
provide advice and guidance to the Secretary and/or the Assistant 
Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) on other matters related 
to public health emergency preparedness and response.
    Background: This public meeting teleconference will be dedicated to 
vote on community resilience and the Public Health Emergency Medical 
Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) strategic end states tasks requests 
from the ASPR. Any additional agenda topics will be available on the 
NBSB's June meeting Web page prior to the public meeting. Recent 
administrative constraints have impacted the logistics of scheduling 
this meeting and schedule coordination necessitates holding this NBSB 
meeting on June 25. These exceptional circumstances prevent the normal 
15 calendar days notice for this meeting. The next scheduled meeting of 
the Board will be announced in the Federal Register within the required 
time-frame established by the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
    Community resilience is defined as the sustained ability of 
communities to withstand and recover from adversity. Resilient 
communities include healthy individuals and families with access to 
health care, both physical and psychological, as well as the knowledge 
and resources to know what to do to care for themselves and others in 
both routine and emergency situations. Enhanced resilience is 
considered critical to mitigating vulnerabilities, reducing negative 
health consequences, and rapidly restoring community functioning after 
emergency events. Recent research suggests that social connectedness 
(or social capital) can be central to the ability of a community to 
withstand disaster and rebuild both the infrastructure and the societal 
ties that are at the foundation of any community. The U.S. Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS) is committed to community health 
resilience and improving the nation's ability to respond to and recover 
from major public health emergencies. The ASPR would like the NBSB to 
provide actionable recommendations to HHS on how the Department can 
build and help sustain community health resilience.
    The 2012 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Public 
Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) 
Implementation Plan states that the Office of the ASPR, by the end of 
fiscal year 2013, will lead PHEMCE agencies in defining Strategic End 
States for all PHEMCE capabilities, based on a clear description of the 
preparedness goals for addressing particular threats and/or medical 
countermeasure needs. Although the PHEMCE Implementation Plan has 
stated goals and objectives for preparedness, the identification of the 
gaps between these goals and objectives and what can actually be 
addressed due to finite resources must be considered. So while the 
perfect end state equals mitigating against all threats, this is not a 
likely reality. The ASPR is contemplating methodologies to achieve a 
suitable balance across these diverse needs, i.e., an adequate answer 
to what is an acceptable level of preparedness in light of constraints. 
In addition, the ASPR would like to determine how to best communicate 
levels of preparedness in a way the public could comprehend.
    Availability of Materials: The meeting agenda and materials will be 
posted prior to the meeting on the June meeting Web page at 
www.phe.gov/nbsb.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Members of the public are 
invited to attend by teleconference via a toll-free call-in phone 
number. The teleconference will be operator-assisted to allow the 
public the opportunity to provide comments to the NBSB. Public 
participation will be limited to time and space available. Public 
comments will be limited to no more than three minutes per speaker. To 
be placed on the public comment list, notify the operator when you join 
the teleconference.
    Public comments received by close of business one week prior to 
each teleconference will be distributed to the NBSB in advance. Submit 
comments via email to [email protected], with ``NBSB Public Comment'' as the 
subject line.

     Dated: June 10, 2013.
Nicole Lurie,
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
[FR Doc. 2013-14326 Filed 6-14-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-37-P