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

Is the US Prepared for the Next Pandemic? A Mixed, Largely Concerning Picture

Based on recent assessments, experts and official reports paint a worrying picture of declining U.S. pandemic preparedness, though some structural capabilities remain in place.

Significant Weaknesses and Warning Signs

Workforce and institutional erosion: CDC lost approximately one quarter of its civilian workforce between fiscal years 2024 and 2026, with reductions spanning global health, health promotion, scientific research, and communications. The White House's own pandemic office has been gutted — in 2025, Gerald Parker resigned as head of the office, leaving the office with no employees.

Funding cuts: The proposed federal budget poses major risks. CDC's budget would be reduced by 53 percent if the administration's proposed FY 2026 budget is adopted, amounting to a 53 percent reduction in funding as compared to FY 2024. More specifically, within the total proposed cut CDC's Public Health Emergency Preparedness program faces a 52 percent funding reduction. Additionally, this year's termination of already approved funds clawed back over $12 billion in COVID-19 era grants – funding that in addition to supporting the pandemic response was intended to strengthen public health infrastructure.

Research and countermeasure disruptions: The cancellation of nearly $500 million in contracts funding mRNA vaccine research and development occurred in August 2025, describing the move as a potential disruption to the research, development, and deployment of countermeasures needed for the next public health emergency.

Global surveillance gaps: The U.S. has stepped back from international health cooperation. The U.S. formally completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization in January 2026, reducing access to global data sources that support outbreak tracking and response, while the dissolution of USAID and reductions to CDC's global health programs have further curtailed international disease surveillance capabilities that historically served as an early warning system.

Expert testimony: A former CDC official offered a stark assessment to Congress. Dr. Fiona Havers said declines in vaccination coverage, staffing losses at federal agencies, and terminated research grants have left the country less prepared than it was in 2020. She also noted that Secretary Kennedy's dismissal of all members of the vaccine advisory committee has damaged CDC's credibility with state and local health partners and clinicians.

State-level unevenness: A comprehensive annual assessment found disparities across the country. The report places states and the District of Columbia into three performance tiers: 20 states in the high-performance tier, 17 states and the District of Columbia in the middle-performance tier, and 13 states in the low-performance tier. This comes as 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.

Remaining Capacity

Not all signs are negative. The U.S. has demonstrated it can still mobilize for outbreaks — the 2026 Ebola response involved a effort encompassing the Pentagon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USAID, the Department of Homeland Security, state officials, hospitals, foreign governments and aid groups overseas, prompting the United States to deploy military assets, build treatment centers and organize airport screening (though this predates the full USAID dissolution). Additionally, legacy infrastructure like the PAHPA framework still provides programs and authorities for public health emergencies, medical countermeasures, medical response, infectious disease and biothreats, and protecting vulnerable populations, and substantial baseline federal funding still exists: in fiscal year 2024, HHS, through PHEP, provided $654 million, and through HPP, provided $240 million for preparedness programs.

Bottom Line

The consensus across public health organizations, government watchdogs, and former officials is that the U.S. is currently less prepared for a major pandemic than it was in 2020, despite having more institutional experience from COVID-19. One assessment summarized the situation bluntly: "The United States has weakened its public health infrastructure even as the likelihood of a new pandemic is high." The combination of deep proposed/enacted budget cuts, mass CDC staffing losses, withdrawal from WHO, dissolution of USAID, cancelled vaccine research contracts, and leadership turmoil at HHS has created what multiple health policy organizations describe as a critical vulnerability — even as real-world threats like H5N1 avian influenza, measles outbreaks, and other infectious diseases continue to test the system in real time.