On Sept. 3, the White House laid out a $65 billion plan to help fight the next public health threats after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, CNBC reported.
The government needs to prepare for the next pandemic, which likely will be much different than COVID-19, Eric Lander, President Joe Biden's science adviser and director of the Office of Science and Technology, said Sept. 3.
The plan, titled "American Pandemic Preparedness: Transforming Our Capabilities," is organized into five pillars, which each address different parts of the public health system. The plan calls for investing in vaccines and therapeutics improvements over the next decade, along with public health infrastructure, real-time monitoring capabilities and personal protective equipment that could be used against a range of pathogens.
The ongoing pandemic has exposed "fundamental issues" within the U.S. public health system, including insufficient funding and lack of coordination across federal, state and local governments, according to Dr. Lander.