The theme at SBM this week is questions for Trump’s nominees for key well being positions throughout the federal authorities. David obtained the ball rolling with an glorious abstract of the nominees and questions for every. Jonathan adopted up along with his personal listing of questions. I wish to proceed the theme, specializing in our preparedness for the following pandemic.
It’s arguably the defining characteristic of Trump’s first administration that he bungled the response to the COVID19 pandemic. Even earlier than the pandemic, Trump disbanded the NSC directorate for international well being and safety and bio-defense, a unit devoted to making ready for and responding to both bioweapons or a pandemic. Trump himself fueled anti-masking misinformation and promoted false cures like hydroxychloroquine. He denied the severity of COVID within the preliminary phases and delayed an efficient response.
In consequence there have been over 1.1 million American deaths from COVID. The pandemic was very disruptive to the US economic system leading to misplaced jobs and a spike in inflation. We are able to by no means know what would have occurred if there have been an optimally efficient US response, however we all know that regardless of our wealth and sources we faired worse than most different comparable nations. Trump does get credit score for greenlighting an thought popping out of the FDA, Operation Warp Velocity, to speed up the approval course of for COVID vaccines. However then his administration bungled the roll out of the vaccine, once more inflicting delay.
I do know that for most individuals we want the COVID pandemic to be a distant reminiscence, a time of shutdowns, masking, and worry. It looks like a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, one thing to speak about to future generations like dwelling by means of the melancholy. I hope this seems to be true, however it might be folly to rely on it. Already consultants are warning of the potential for the chicken flu pandemic to spillover to people. There are animal-to-human circumstances, however at present no human-to-human transmission. However that is what spillover occasions are – viruses that may infect animals and people mutating to set off a human epidemic and even pandemic.
To arrange for when (not if) the following pandemic hits, the Biden administration created the Workplace of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Coverage (OPPR). If you’re within the temper, you’ll be able to watch two and a half hours of congressional testimony about how we needs to be making ready for the following pandemic, and classes discovered from COVID. What you’ll find are largely competent professionals getting deep into the weeds of public well being coverage and pandemic preparedness.
For my part, a excessive precedence for approving any Trump nominees for key federal well being positions is their attitudes about COVID and find out how to put together for and reply to the following pandemic. These individuals is perhaps those in cost when the following COVID hits. As now we have seen, that response can save or price a whole lot of 1000’s of lives, and dramatically have an effect on all of society. So – listed below are some questions for them:
Was it a mistake to close down the NSC directorate for international well being and safety and bio-defense? Do you assist the OPPR and its mission?
What further steps would you advocate to organize for the following pandemic?
What needs to be the connection between federal well being coverage and scientific proof, together with educational, analysis, {and professional} establishments?
Given the COVID expertise, how do you view the position of public well being coverage, comparable to masking and isolation, as instruments for controlling the unfold of harmful infectious illnesses?
How do you view the position of public vaccination applications in managing pandemics?
Is it accountable to depend upon pure herd immunity as a major measure of managing a pandemic?
What background and expertise prepares you for the accountability of defending the general public well being, usually and within the face of potential future pandemics?
What steps would you’re taking to foster public belief in authorities well being establishments and their suggestions?
These are all questions I might have liked to see requested of the candidates through the marketing campaign. Sadly, that’s not the sort of media or tradition now we have on this nation. It is usually wonderful how shortly even massive life-changing occasions go down the general public reminiscence gap. You’d assume, just some years after an enormous pandemic, these can be key questions for any future government.
On the very least, this could have been a significant concern within the marketing campaign. Who would you need to have in cost if one other pandemic hits over the following 4 years? I’ll not have favored the collective reply that the US voting public gave, however not less than the query ought to have been requested. And so right here we’re, going through a daunting line-up of nominees for key federal well being positions, presenting a spectrum of anti-science ideology and a regarding lack of credentials.
Our one skinny reed of hope is that senate Republicans will really do their job.
