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Beating this pandemic — and the next
Start with lessons learned, then turn the page
By David Beier and Andrew Sullivan
We’re in the midst of one of the gravest tests America has ever faced. It’s a moment to set aside partisanship and make decisions in the interest of the American people. While we’re depending on President Trump to provide sober leadership, our collective health and financial well-being depend not on him alone, but on all of us. We all have to do our part. But we also need a national plan on testing.
It’s never too early to draw lessons from a crisis. This is the context for a piece which assesses the federal preparation and response to COVID-19 — and outlines ways to do better in the future.
President Trump says he inherited an old system for testing viruses as part of pandemic preparedness. But the record suggests otherwise. He became president after multiple recent pandemics (SARS, MERS, H1N1), and after Congress in 2013 passed pandemic legislation[i] granting new authority to streamline and billions in funding. The President’s transition team received stark warnings on pandemic risks from the Obama Administration[ii], including a Situation Room briefing on pandemics on January 13, 2017.
President Trump also inherited a White House staff with a pandemic directorate…
