Health experts have largely expressed support for the Biden Administration's new COVID-19 preparedness plan, with some noting the plan's execution is a challenge that yet remains.
The 96-page plan, released March 2, is centered on four goals: protect against and treat COVID-19, (2) prepare for new variants, (3) prevent economic and educational shutdowns and (4) vaccinate the world.
Here are four health experts' responses to the plan:
Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for brevity and clarity. They are presented in alphabetical order.
Michael Osterholm, PhD. Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis): "I congratulate the administration in recognizing the importance of variants. They laid out, I think, a very realistic message on that, saying we can hope the worst is behind us, but that we don't know. Just as we saw what delta and omicron brought us, we don't know what will happen in the future. So I think that is a very important point, and all of the work that they're proposing be done is in fact about what still could be a real challenge."
Scott Gottlieb, MD. Former FDA Commissioner and Pfizer Board Member: "The Biden Administration's new COVID-19 plan is comprehensive, forward-looking [and] well-crafted," Dr. Gottlieb said in a series of tweets March 2. "It focuses on key capacity building for future contingencies that'll provide greater assurance we're prepared whether COVID-19 remains a low level threat or takes new, more menacing twists." To read more of Dr. Gottlieb's response, click here.
Megan Ranney, MD. Emergency Medicine Physician and Academic Dean at Brown University School of Public Health (Providence, R.I.): "Now is the time to plan for the worst, while hoping for the best. I'm thrilled to see President Biden's team putting real thought behind how to be better prepared should there be another surge or another variant. We need a combination of good monitoring (to tell us when we're heading for a surge), good prevention (tests and vaccines and mask on-ramps), and good treatment (new research and improved equity in access to current medications and plans for how to handle hospital surges). Should this plan be implemented as outlined, it's a big step forward to a better tomorrow."
Eric Topol, MD. Founder and Director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute (San Diego): "It's the comprehensive plan we've needed for some time, [and] now needs to get executed (some important components rely on getting funded)," Dr. Topol said in a series of tweets.