NEW: The Preparedness Problem — how America spent 20 years getting ready to fight a pandemic, and then dropped the ball when it finally arrived. politico.com/news/magazine/… #longread
(This is a rather long story — maybe the longest I’ve ever written — so will share some cliff’s notes in a thread to follow.)
PANDEMIC PLANNING began in earnest during the Bush administration, as officials warned of a killer flu — and were sometimes mocked for their doomsday predictions.
(For instance, Jay Leno made regular jokes about Leavitt’s recommendation for canned goods.)
(For instance, Jay Leno made regular jokes about Leavitt’s recommendation for canned goods.)
BY 2005, there was growing political consensus to fund those planning efforts.
A junior senator named BARACK OBAMA even argued in the New York Times that it was time for “decisive action to prevent a pandemic.”
nytimes.com/2005/06/06/opi…
A junior senator named BARACK OBAMA even argued in the New York Times that it was time for “decisive action to prevent a pandemic.”
nytimes.com/2005/06/06/opi…
By the mid-2000s, rising officials like ALEX AZAR, ROBERT KADLEC and NICOLE LURIE had become key figures in pandemic planning, working to shape strategies that they hoped they’d never have to implement…
politico.com/news/magazine/…
politico.com/news/magazine/…
OBAMA WAS TESTED by outbreaks like Ebola, and his officials admit, they didn’t nail it perfectly.
But there was also a focus on self-assessment and improvement. After the H1N1 outbreak, Obama’s health team laid out a plan that guided efforts to come. phe.gov/Preparedness/m…
But there was also a focus on self-assessment and improvement. After the H1N1 outbreak, Obama’s health team laid out a plan that guided efforts to come. phe.gov/Preparedness/m…
A PANDEMIC PLAYBOOK also distilled the Obama team’s knowledge and lessons for future administrations. (Though you may have already seen that reporting.)
BUSH VETERANS like Azar and Kadlec were tapped for key roles in the Trump administration, and some of their moves alienated predecessors and career officials.
But Azar and Kadlec also made clear: pandemic threats were looming, and the US needed to do more to prepare.
But Azar and Kadlec also made clear: pandemic threats were looming, and the US needed to do more to prepare.
TRUMP WAS WARNED - by health experts, by intelligence officers and by his own appointees who crafted the original pandemic plans.
But officials who had prepared years for this moment ran into a problem they didn’t predict: A president who refused to act.
politico.com/news/magazine/…
But officials who had prepared years for this moment ran into a problem they didn’t predict: A president who refused to act.
politico.com/news/magazine/…
