Is the US prepared to deal with another pandemic or widespread health crisis?

Is the US Prepared for the Next Pandemic? A Mixed Picture

Based on recent expert assessments, the answer is nuanced—there are genuine strengths, but also significant and growing vulnerabilities that many public health experts believe leave the U.S. less prepared than it should be, and in some ways less prepared than before COVID-19.

Reasons for Some Confidence

Technological advances are a genuine bright spot. Technology stands out as a realm where there have been great successes, with a lot of emphasis on diagnostic testing and vaccination, and the mRNA platform giving a new tool to develop vaccines quickly for the next pandemic pathogen. Wastewater surveillance has also become a valuable tool—the ability to do wastewater surveillance to track the spread of disease is now part of the toolkit that didn't exist in the same way before 2020.

Some agencies are actively planning: HHS is pursuing advanced nanoparticle-based vaccine candidates for pandemic and seasonal influenza strains, and supporting development of diagnostic technologies for detecting and distinguishing seasonal, non-seasonal, and highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Significant Reasons for Concern

Institutional and funding erosion. Perhaps most alarming to experts is the state of coordinating infrastructure. The White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, created in 2023 to better prepare the US for future pandemics, saw its head resign in 2025, leaving the office with no employees.

Budget shortfalls are also substantial. HHS's own strategic planning documents indicate if funding continues at proposed FY 2026 levels, an estimated $33.5 billion funding gap from total projected need is expected over the coming years.

Global health retreat. The U.S. has pulled back from key international structures. The U.S. announced its withdrawal from the WHO after almost 78 years of membership, citing "the WHO's failures during the COVID-19 pandemic." Additionally, the administration dismantled USAID, the federal humanitarian agency that played a role in global outbreak prevention and response. A January 2026 report found that the U.S., UK, France, Germany and others reduced their global health and R&D funding in 2025, according to the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat, which reviews global efforts to ensure tests, therapies and vaccines are available within 100 days of a pandemic threat.

Research cuts and vaccine skepticism. One of the more pointed critiques comes from epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, who argues that the Trump administration, which includes strong anti-vaccine voices, has made the United States less prepared for a future pandemic. Boston University researchers similarly point to President Trump's overhaul of international collaboration, healthcare administration, and scientific support—not to mention his appointment of a noted vaccine skeptic as secretary of health and human services as a major complicating factor, with one expert noting simply that "Politics are affecting our pandemic preparedness."

State-level disparities. A 2026 national assessment found the country is currently dealing with active strain: in 2025 the country faced the most severe flu season in nearly a decade, rising measles outbreaks, continued H5N1 avian influenza activity, and a growing number of extreme weather events—all while federal systems built over decades came under significant strain. That same report found access to paid sick leave varies widely across U.S. regions—from 98 percent of workers in Pacific states to 67 percent in East South Central states—with gaps concentrated among low-wage, part-time, and service-sector workers.

Ongoing biothreats. The concern isn't hypothetical—active threats are already circulating. The growing number of biothreats even within U.S. borders includes a measles outbreak in West Texas that started in January 2025 and has proved fatal, plus a growing bird flu epidemic. Experts warn that H5N1 bird flu continues to spread in poultry, wild birds, and mammals in the U.S., with each case increasing the risk of further spillover into humans—making the U.S. a possible epicenter of any new flu pandemic.

Public trust remains fragile. A 2026 scientific summit concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic made clear that public health guidance is only effective if people trust it, and mistrust, misinformation, and inconsistent communication slowed response efforts—meaning rebuilding trust must happen before the next crisis, not during it.

Bottom Line

One epidemiologist's stark assessment captures the current expert consensus: writing five years after COVID began, a Time contributor noted that the question remains whether we are better prepared for next time, and sadly, if anything, we are less prepared than before. Given that new modeling suggests over the next 25 years there is a 50% probability of a pandemic occurring with mortality similar to or worse than COVID-19, the stakes of this preparedness gap are considerable. While the U.S. retains superior biomedical technology and manufacturing capacity compared to 2020, the combination of institutional cutbacks, funding shortfalls, international withdrawal, and public trust deficits leaves many experts more worried than reassured about the nation's readiness for the next major health crisis.