On December 30, President Obama signed Executive Order 13528, “Establishing Federal Capability for the Timely Provision of Medical Countermeasures Following a Biological Attack,” which gives the US Postal Service responsibility for delivering self-administered antidotes in the wake of a biological attack against the US. The new order is designed to ensure that the number of casualties in the instance of a bio-attack would be significantly reduced with the rapid deployment of antidotes that civilians can self-administer.
According to the Order, the US Postal Service will utilize its “capacity for rapid residential delivery of medical countermeasures for self administration.” Within 180 days, the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, in coordination with the Postal Service, will develop a model to ensure the smooth implementation of the Order in the event of a biological attack against the US. The Order also calls for national plans to be established at the Federal level for the rapid distribution of the necessary antidote.
The likelihood of a biological attack against the US continues to increase. Biological agents tend to be more easy to acquire and/or produce than nuclear weapons. Al Qaeda has openly stated its intentions to employ biological agents against US targets and have already sought to acquire the capability. Biological agents are also incredibly difficult to detect and mitigate their spread. They are also difficult to attribute as the attacks are unlikely to be understood as bio-attacks until several days or weeks following an attack.
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