Biden to unveil defence plan to tackle next pandemic

WASHINGTON • The Biden administration, applying lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, will soon unveil a new defence strategy against biological threats that puts the White House at the centre of any future US response.

A senior administration official, speaking under the condition of anonymity as the strategy has not yet been released, said that the government has paid close attention to research which suggests there is a 50/50 chance of another pandemic like Covid-19 - or one that is more deadly - over the next 25 years.

The Biden plan is the result of more than a year of work by US national security and public health experts to improve the nation's framework for preparedness, response and recovery.

As soon as this month, the administration is expected to release a National Biodefence Strategy that will outline its approach to biothreats that could impact humans, animals, environments and crops, according to people familiar with the matter.

The plan, along with US$88.2 billion (S$123 billion) in funding the President is seeking, would shift how the government handles pandemic preparedness by more clearly describing responsibilities, goals and deadlines - an attempt to avoid the confusion and agency infighting that plagued the United States' pandemic response.

"The bottom line is that we know what it takes to prevent and essentially take outbreaks off the table as a threat to society," said Dr Andrew Hebbeler, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy's principal assistant director for health and life science, who has been involved in developing the strategy.

"This is probably the most focused plan to date that aims to do that," he said.

But people familiar with the new strategy have concerns that the lengthy, jargon-filled document would not strengthen US biodefence unless the government invests tens of billions of dollars to back its ideas.

The new National Biodefence Strategy builds on Mr Biden's previously released American Pandemic Preparedness Plan and his request in the 2023 budget for US$88.2 billion in mandatory funding for biodefence purposes, which, if approved by Congress, would be made available over five years.

The ideas communicated in those documents will be the backbone of the forthcoming report, according to the people.

The five most recent US presidents have all weighed in on how to prepare for health crises caused by infectious disease and biowarfare. The past two decades have spurred many documents that outline steps to take in the wake of a deadly pathogen: invest in vaccines and treatments, develop tests, build tools to detect and predict its spread, and deploy personal protective equipment.

Yet when Covid-19 hit, the US government was woefully unprepared and slow to respond.

One of the key problems that this new report is trying to address is the lack of clear leadership that hindered a quick response.

The Biden administration's plan builds on the first iteration of the National Biodefence Strategy, which was released by the Donald Trump administration in September 2018.

The revised strategy will more clearly define which stakeholders are tasked with certain jobs, according to people familiar with the matter, and it will explain how the government aims to measure the success of those actions.

For example, the programme will outline the need to develop drugs, vaccines and tests within 100 days of identifying a new threat, and it will put the White House in charge of coordinating inter-agency efforts and working with international partners.

Previously, the Trump administration had created a mechanism within the Department of Health and Human Services to lead the response.

BLOOMBERG