Is the US prepared to deal with another pandemic or widespread health crisis?
No, the US is not fully prepared for another pandemic or widespread health crisis, though it has made meaningful improvements in some areas since COVID-19. Significant gaps remain in coordination, sustained funding, state/local capacities, workforce, supply chains, and public trust, and recent policy shifts have raised concerns about reversing progress.[1][2]
Progress Since COVID-19
Post-2020 efforts addressed some failures:
Biden administration reports and roadmaps highlighted these as building a stronger foundation, including playbooks left for successors.[8]
Persistent and Emerging Gaps
Independent assessments paint a more cautious picture:
Recent Developments and Risks
As of 2025–2026, policy changes under the second Trump administration—including HHS/CDC workforce reductions (thousands of positions), reorganization, withdrawal or reduced engagement with WHO, pulling back billions in residual COVID-related state/local funds, cuts or wind-downs of certain mRNA/biodefense R&D projects, and shifts away from some prior global health security emphases—have drawn warnings from experts that they undermine detection, response capacity, and long-term preparedness. The OPPR saw staffing disruptions. Ongoing threats like H5N1 (bird flu in cattle/poultry with limited human cases), mpox, and other outbreaks test systems, with mixed assessments of response adequacy.[14][15][16]
Public health leaders and analyses note that emergency funding cliffs, chronic underinvestment, and politicization exacerbate fragility. Concurrent disasters (weather, cyber, etc.) strain resources further.[17]
Bottom Line
The US is better positioned in technical tools (stockpiles, surveillance tech, platforms for rapid countermeasures) and has institutional lessons from COVID than in early 2020. However, it is not robustly prepared. Success depends on sustained, bipartisan investment; clear leadership and authorities; resilient state/local systems and workforce; equitable access; trusted communication; and addressing root issues like healthcare capacity and supply resilience. Without these, another major event could again expose vulnerabilities, leading to excess deaths, economic disruption, and eroded trust—as multiple expert commissions, GAO, and state assessments conclude. Preparedness is a continuous process, not a one-time fix, and current trajectories show both gains and risks of backsliding.
Citations (17)
- https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-107175
Backs: “Significant gaps remain in coordination, sustained funding, state/local capacities, workforce, supply chains, and public trust, and recent policy shifts have raised concerns about reversing progress.”
- https://biodefensecommission.org/reports/the-national-blueprint-for-biodefense/
Backs: “Significant gaps remain in coordination, sustained funding, state/local capacities, workforce, supply chains, and public trust, and recent policy shifts have raised concerns about reversing progress.”
- https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/14/report-the-biden-harris-administration-roadmap-for-pandemic-preparedness-and-response/
Backs: “BARDA and related programs supported medical countermeasures.”
- https://www.cdc.gov/washington/testimony/2024/t20241114.htm
Backs: “Expanded electronic case reporting (from under 200 facilities pre-COVID to over 45,000–48,000 by 2024), wastewater monitoring, syndromic surveillance, and modeling/forecasting capabilities (e.g., CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics).”
- https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240105409
Backs: “The US underwent a 2024 Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of International Health Regulations capacities, showing relatively strong scores in many detection, response, and some prevention areas (though exact full breakdowns highlight strengths alongside recommended improvements).”
- https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-releases-global-health-security-annual-report
Backs: “Billions in global health security; domestic vaccination infrastructure lessons; nurse licensure compacts for surge staffing (41 states as of early 2025); public health accreditation in most states.”
- https://www.tfah.org/article/new-report-measures-states-preparedness-for-public-health-emergencies-including-infectious-disease-outbreaks-and-extreme-weather-events/
Backs: “Billions in global health security; domestic vaccination infrastructure lessons; nurse licensure compacts for surge staffing (41 states as of early 2025); public health accreditation in most states.”
- https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/report-the-biden-harris-administration-roadmap-for-pandemic-preparedness-and-response
Backs: “Biden administration reports and roadmaps highlighted these as building a stronger foundation, including playbooks left for successors.”
- https://files.gao.gov/reports/GAO%E2%80%9124%E2%80%91107175/index.html
Backs: “Lessons emphasize better advance planning, partner roles, and flexibilities.”
- https://biodefensecommission.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/National-Blueprint-for-Biodefense-2024_final_.pdf
Backs: “It advocates sustained (“on all the time”) biodefense rather than boom-bust cycles.”
- https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2406427
Backs: “Pre-COVID, the US ranked highly on paper (e.g., Global Health Security Index) but underperformed in practice due to implementation failures.”
- https://www.stimson.org/2024/prepare-for-the-next-biothreat-now/
Backs: “Pre-COVID, the US ranked highly on paper (e.g., Global Health Security Index) but underperformed in practice due to implementation failures.”
- https://center-forward.org/basic/pandemic-preparedness-strengthening-the-u-s-response-framework-2/
Backs: “PAHPA reauthorization and stable CDC preparedness funding are repeatedly flagged as needs.”
- https://apnews.com/article/pandemic-preparedness-trump-biden-192518a8e1414cf40bafefdc2bf1f5ca
Backs: “Ongoing threats like H5N1 (bird flu in cattle/poultry with limited human cases), mpox, and other outbreaks test systems, with mixed assessments of response adequacy.”
- https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/the-trump-administrations-foreign-aid-review-status-of-global-health-security-pandemic-preparedness/
Backs: “Ongoing threats like H5N1 (bird flu in cattle/poultry with limited human cases), mpox, and other outbreaks test systems, with mixed assessments of response adequacy.”
- https://www.science.org/content/article/trump-administration-dismantling-efforts-fight-next-pandemic
Backs: “Ongoing threats like H5N1 (bird flu in cattle/poultry with limited human cases), mpox, and other outbreaks test systems, with mixed assessments of response adequacy.”
- https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CMR-HS5_100-00193235/pdf/CMR-HS5_100-00193235.pdf
Backs: “Concurrent disasters (weather, cyber, etc.) strain resources further.”