The White House has launched a plan to transform U.S. capabilities when it comes to preparing for and responding to future pandemics and other biological threats
The plan outlined in the document American Pandemic Preparedness: Transforming our Capabilities establishes a set of opportunities and needs across five key pillars to protect the country against high consequence biological threats, the White House said Friday.
These key areas are transforming medical defenses; ensuring situational awareness; strengthening public health systems; building core capabilities; and managing the mission.
For the first key pillar, the U.S. should expand and improve the availability of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics during or before a pandemic.
The plan, which is part of a biodefense and pandemic readiness strategy, also aims to build up core capabilities in the areas of personnel protective equipment, biosafety and biosecurity, stockpiles and supply chains and regulatory improvement.
The move is the latest in a string of efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and improve readiness against future health emergencies and biological threats. In January, President Biden reinstated the National Security Council Directorate on Global Health Security and Biodefense and ordered a review of U.S. biopreparedness policies.
