Earlier today, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Richard Burr (R-NC), the respective chair and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a discussion draft of new legislation to address the federal response of the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics.
The Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (PREVENT Pandemics Act), proposes a sweeping overhaul of the federal pandemic response to improve upon the deficiencies that have emerged from the COVID-19 response. It would also establish a new panel to investigate the origins of COVID-19 and the federal governments’ response, make the CDC director a Senate-confirmed position, and allow HHS to appoint as many as 250 preparedness and response positions.
The legislation is currently being shared as a discussion draft to review feedback over the next 10 days before it is formally introduced. The full text of the bill is available here and a section by section summary is available here.
Specifically, the PREVENT Pandemics Act includes actions to:
- Improve Strategy and Coordination Among Our Public Health Preparedness Agencies
- Strengthen Supply Chain and Government Stockpiles of Medical Products, Such as Masks, Drugs, Vaccines, and Tests
- Ensure the CDC’s Accountability and Leadership by Requiring a Senate-confirmed CDC Director and an Agency-wide Strategic Plan
- Improve Our Capabilities to Detect and Monitor Emerging Infectious Disease and Other Threats, Including Updates to Public Health Data to Quickly Provide Comprehensive, Actionable Insight During Public Health Emergencies
- Enhance the Development and Review of Tests, Treatments, and Vaccines, and Mitigate Critical Shortages of Medical Products
- Address Disparities Which Make Public Health Emergencies Harder On At-Risk Populations and Communities
- Improve Public Health Communication and Address Misinformation
- Revitalize the Public and Community Health Workforce
- Accelerate Biomedical Research to Develop Medical Countermeasures for Pandemic Threats, and Enhance Research on the Long-term Effects of COVID-19 and Faster Test Development
- Ensure Continued Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services During Public Health Emergency Responses to Help People with Trauma, Depression, Substance Use Disorders, and More
- Establish an Independent Task Force to Conduct a Comprehensive Review of the COVID-19 Response
Argentum is actively reviewing the legislation and will be sharing comments with lawmakers on the draft.