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

Based on the most recent assessments, the picture is mixed and trending negative, with experts increasingly warning that US pandemic readiness has weakened significantly over the past year.

Strengths That Remain

The US does have some structural advantages built up over the past two decades. There is a well-established domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity, stockpiles of influenza vaccines and therapeutics, and evidence-based guidance on prevention, mitigation and treatment available for state and local governments, the private sector, individuals, and families. Agencies like ASPR continue operational work—ASPR leads the nation's medical and public health preparedness for, response to, and recovery from disasters and public health emergencies.

Significant Warning Signs

However, the authoritative annual "Ready or Not" report from Trust for America's Health (released May 2026) paints a concerning picture. The report notes that the United States entered 2026 managing its most severe influenza season in nearly a decade, the highest measles case count since 1991, and sustained avian influenza surveillance — all while the federal public health infrastructure underpinning hospital and clinical emergency response was being significantly dismantled.

Workforce and funding cuts: 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. Similarly, the Health Resources and Services Administration, which funds Federally Qualified Health Centers and healthcare workforce development programs for underserved areas, similarly lost approximately one quarter of its staff.

Grant terminations: The March 2025 termination of more than $12 billion in COVID-19-era grants — funding that had been broadened to support infectious disease monitoring, laboratory capacity, emergency preparedness, and mental health services — faced court orders blocking terminations for plaintiff states, but litigation remained unresolved through year's end, creating sustained uncertainty for preparedness planning.

Budget proposals: The proposed FY2027 budget would go even further: it would eliminate the Hospital Preparedness Program entirely and cut the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement by approximately 52 percent.

Countermeasure research disrupted: The cancellation of nearly $500 million in contracts funding mRNA vaccine research and development in August 2025 represents a potential disruption to the research, development, and deployment of countermeasures needed for the next public health emergency.

Global health disengagement: 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.

State-Level Variation

Readiness also varies widely by state. The 2026 report measures readiness across 10 indicators and places states into three performance tiers: twenty states achieved high-tier scores; 17 states and the District of Columbia landed in the middle tier; and 13 states fell into the low tier.

Other concerning indicators include declining flu vaccination rates—the percentage of U.S. residents vaccinated against influenza continued to decrease from pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, and the 2024-25 flu season saw the highest hospitalization rates since 2010–2011 and the most pediatric deaths in any non-pandemic season since reporting began in 2004.

Bottom Line

As TFAH's president put it, "The nation faced the most severe flu season in nearly a decade, the highest annual measles case count since 1991, and devastating weather-related emergencies, even as federal public health funding, staffing, and operational support were destabilized... These challenges make clear that emergency preparedness cannot rely on a patchwork of limited and unpredictable resources."

A broader analysis echoes this ambivalence, essentially concluding that America is "in many ways, better prepared. But the progress made is fragile and uneven."

In short: The US retains foundational infrastructure and expertise from the COVID-19 experience, but significant recent federal workforce reductions, funding cuts and clawbacks, withdrawal from WHO, and cuts to vaccine R&D have eroded readiness at precisely the moment multiple disease threats (flu, measles, H5N1) are testing the system. Most experts and preparedness organizations currently assess the US as less prepared than it was a year or two ago, even though some baseline capabilities remain intact.