Christopher Kirchhoff, a former Obama administration aide who wrote a report in 2016 on the lessons learned from the 2014 Ebola outbreak, told Stat News that the United States was on the path to preparedness for a pandemic like the current novel coronavirus situation after Ebola, but never finished the job.
In his report, Kirchhoff wrote that it wasn't acceptable for the U.S. to "merely" maintain "the current scale of response activities." He told Stat that Congress, during the Ebola outbreak, passed a $5.4 billion supplemental package with a down payment to strengthen the country's pathogen surveillance and detection operations, as well as the preparedness of the health care system for an outbreak.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA DraftSpeed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
-
Today's political cartoons - April 16, 2024Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - sleepyhead, little people, and more
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of warSpeed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picksSpeed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
-
How will Israel respond to Iran's direct attack?Speed Read Iran’s weekend attack on Israel could escalate into a wider Middle East war
-
US, Israel brace for Iran retaliatory strikesSpeed Read An Iranian attack on Israel is believed to be imminent
-
Congress honors real-life Rosie the RivetersSpeed Read These American women reshaped the work force during World War II
-
Outgunned Ukraine could fall, US general warnsSpeed Read Without more US aid, Ukraine is at risk of losing the war
-
House GOP scuttles FISA vote at Trump's urgingSpeed Read Right-wing lawmakers blocked Speaker Mike Johnson's surveillance bill
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion banSpeed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
