Biden Administration Must Commit to a National Pandemic Preparedness Strategy
By Kenneth E. Thorpe
COVID-19 has killed more than 350,000 Americans. And with case counts and hospitalizations soaring, many more deaths are sadly in store.
Defeating this scourge will be President-elect Biden's greatest challenge. But he'd be remiss to stop there. He has a unique opportunity to build up our national health care defenses so we're better prepared to fend off future disease outbreaks.
That's why creating a comprehensive pandemic preparedness strategy that is agile and reacts quickly ought to be one of his administration's top priorities. It could save tens of thousands of Americans in the years and decades ahead.
During the current outbreak, many vulnerable Americans have struggled to access affordable care. By one estimate, as many as 12 million Americans lost their employer-sponsored health coverage between February and July. More than 40 percent of Americans deferred any kind of medical care earlier this year due to fears of contracting the virus. Patients with chronic conditions were also more likely to forego urgent or emergency care during those early months, this was also the case for too many Black and Latino Americans.
Many of these compounding challenges could be alleviated by making health insurance more affordable to help ensure Americans can get the care they need in future health emergencies.
President-elect Biden must also mitigate the impact of social distancing measures and quarantines. No doubt such actions are absolutely necessary for slowing the spread of infectious diseases, but they also take a toll on Americans' mental and economic health.
Consider that 40 percent of Americans reported suffering from some form of mental health or substance abuse problem during COVID-19 induced lockdowns, according to a survey conducted in June.
Building up our health care infrastructure is similarly vital. Investments in telehealth systems that enable patients to access medical care remotely would improve health outcomes in a crisis. Investments in monitoring and contact-tracing systems would prove similarly useful.
A forthcoming preparedness plan could create a mechanism for the federal government to identify, assess, and monitor health risks that could precipitate another pandemic. One such risk is already well known: antimicrobial resistance. Drug-resistant bacteria and fungi kill 35,000 Americans each year, and with a treatment arsenal that is dwindling in both effectiveness and financial solvency, that annual death toll is expected to skyrocket.
Addressing this growing threat will require a coordinated federal response that encourages -- and rewards -- the development of new, more potent antibiotics. Equally as important, that response would also include reforms that discourage antibiotic overuse and misuse.
Two bipartisan bills currently under consideration in Congress -- the DISARM and PASTEUR Acts -- would incentivize both antibiotics research and development as well as stewardship. A Biden administration could urge congressional leaders to send both bills to the president's desk right away as a key component of a broader effort to prepare the nation for future pandemics.
COVID-19 is far from over, and already, the next pandemic is looming. The difference with antimicrobial resistance is that we know it is coming, and it would be simply negligent not to prepare for it as best we can. The Biden administration could save countless lives by developing and implementing a national pandemic preparedness plan that ensures we are better equipped to handle future outbreaks and health crises.
Kenneth E. Thorpe is a professor of health policy at Emory University and chairman of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease.
