American Military News by Riley Griffin and John Lauerman - June 18, 2022
The Biden administration is preparing a new defense strategy against pandemics and other biological threats that applies lessons from COVID-19 and puts the White House at the center of any future US response.
Research suggests there’s a 50-50 chance of another COVID-like pandemic — or one that is more deadly — over the next 25 years, according to a senior administration official who spoke under the condition of anonymity as the strategy isn’t yet public, and the administration’s plan is the result of more than a year of work by U.S. national security and public health experts to improve the nation’s framework for preparedness, response and recovery.
As soon as this month, the administration is expected to release a National Biodefense Strategy that will outline its approach to facing biological threats to humans, animals, environments and crops, according to people familiar with the matter. The plan, along with $88.2 billion in funding the president is seeking, would shift how the government handles pandemic preparedness by more clearly describing responsibilities, goals and deadlines — an attempt to avoid the confusion and agency infighting that plagued the U.S. pandemic response.
“The bottom line is that we know what it takes to prevent and essentially take outbreaks off the table as a threat to society,” said Andrew Hebbeler, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s principal assistant director for health and life science, who has been involved in developing the strategy. “This is probably the most focused plan to date that aims to do that.”
But people familiar with the new strategy have concerns that the lengthy, jargon-filled document won’t strengthen U.S. biodefense unless the government invests tens of billions of dollars to back its ideas.
More:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/06/biden-to-unveil-plan-for-next-pandemic-while-seeking-88-billion-in-funds/
