Forbes October 2, 2021
The White House is proposing a $65 billion pandemic preparedness initiative. A 27-page outline released last month calls for $65 billion in spending over the next 7 to 10 years. This includes a $15 billion allotment as part of the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill that is currently being debated in Congress.
What’s missing are essential public health components, including comprehensive plans on how to equitably distribute and provide access to developed and procured medical technologies, as well as ways to improve outreach and information campaigns. These items can’t be an after-thought. As we’ve (hopefully) learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, they’re integral to winning the battle.
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Science Advisor to the...