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

Based on current expert assessments, most public health specialists and recent reports suggest the US is less prepared now than it was even a few years ago, though there are some counterbalancing strengths. Here's a breakdown of the key findings:

Signs of Weakened Preparedness

Federal infrastructure has been rolled back. The White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, created after COVID-19 to coordinate federal response, has essentially been gutted — in 2025, Gerald Parker resigned as head of the office, leaving the office with no employees.

Global health commitments have been cut. In 2025, the administration dismantled USAID, the federal humanitarian agency that played a role in global outbreak prevention and response, after stating that large portions of USAID funding did not align with "core national interests." Additionally, in 2026, the U.S. announced its withdrawal from the WHO after almost 78 years of membership.

Research funding has been reduced. The U.S., United Kingdom, France, Germany and others reduced their global health and research and development funding in 2025, according to a report published in January by the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat.

Bloomberg's June 2026 analysis is blunt about the core problem: the fundamentals of pandemic preparedness include maintaining a robust public health infrastructure, including a strong surveillance system to detect threats early; investing in research to facilitate the quick development of new treatments and vaccines; and building public trust in health officials — and on each of these fronts, health experts say, steps taken by the administration have weakened the ability of the US to respond to a new health emergency.

Funding gaps are substantial. HHS's own preparedness planning documents project that if funding continues at the proposed FY 2026 levels over the projected five-year period, an estimated $33.5 billion funding gap from the total projected need is expected.

State-Level Concerns (TFAH "Ready or Not 2026" Report)

The Trust for America's Health's annual assessment found that 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 the federal systems built over decades to help states prepare for and respond to emergencies came under significant strain. The report also notes that paid sick leave reduces disease transmission, supports business continuity, and is increasingly recognized by employers as an important part of preparedness infrastructure — yet coverage remains uneven across the country.

Trust and Misinformation

A persistent theme across expert convenings is that public trust remains fragile. Experts at a 2026 Global Virus Network meeting noted that the COVID-19 pandemic made clear that public health guidance is only effective if people trust it, and mistrust, misinformation and confusion around evolving recommendations, at times compounded by inconsistent communication, slowed response efforts.

Some Reasons for Cautious Optimism

Not all assessments are entirely negative. Boston University's Nahid Bhadelia, who advised the White House COVID response team, offered a nuanced view: "In some ways better, in some ways worse." She pointed out that counting in the world's favor: we've done this before and we have a lot of new tools—from vaccines to monitoring technology—to deploy. However, she also flagged that vaccine hesitancy and health misinformation are growing problems, climate change increases the risk of another outbreak, and stubborn health disparities put us all in greater danger.

Globally, there has been institutional progress too — the historic WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted in May 2025, setting out a comprehensive approach to pandemic prevention, preparedness and response that improves both global health security and global health equity — though the US's withdrawal from WHO means it isn't party to this framework.

Bottom Line

The weight of expert opinion — spanning academic institutions (Johns Hopkins, Boston University, USF), nonpartisan health policy organizations (TFAH), and major news outlets (Bloomberg, PBS Frontline) — suggests the US has moved in a less-prepared direction since 2025 due to institutional dismantling, funding cuts, and withdrawal from international cooperation frameworks, even though scientific tools and past experience provide some advantages compared to 2020.