Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said Tuesday that Congress should act this year on “needed changes” to prepare for the next pandemic.
This, according to a press release that Alexander posted on his official website.
Alexander made his remarks during a Senate Health Committee hearing where former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist testified about his calls 15 years ago for Congress to prepare for a pandemic.
Witnesses testified as to how the federal government, states, hospitals, and health care providers should prepare for another wave of COVID-19 and future pandemics. This, based on lessons learned from COVID-19 and the past 20 years of pandemic planning, according to the press release.
“While the nation is in the midst of responding to COVID-19, the United States Congress should take stock now of what parts of the local, state, and federal response worked, what could work better and how, and be prepared to pass legislation this year to better prepare for the next pandemic, which will surely come,” Alexander said.
Earlier this month Alexander released “Preparing for the Next Pandemic,” a white paper outlining five recommendations for Congress to prepare Americans for the next pandemic.
Those recommendations include the following:
• Tests, Treatments, and Vaccines – Accelerate Research and Development
• Disease Surveillance – Expand Ability to Detect, Identify, Model, and Track Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Stockpiles, Distribution, and Surges – Rebuild and Maintain Federal and State Stockpiles and Improve Medical Supply Surge Capacity and Distribution
• Public Health Capabilities – Improve State and Local Capacity to Respond
• Who is on the Flagpole? – Improve Coordination of Federal Agencies During a Public Health Emergency
Alexander has invited people to comment, respond, and offer any additional recommendations on the white paper by Friday for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to consider.
“Looking at lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis thus far, many of the challenges Congress has worked to address during the last 20 years still remain,” Alexander said.
“Additionally, COVID-19 has exposed some gaps that had not been previously identified. These include unanticipated shortages of testing supplies and sedative drugs, which are necessary to use ventilators for COVID-19 patients.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Lamar Alexander” by the National Park Service. CC BY 2.0.
Go away!!!
Best solution for next “pandemic” is to leave us alone.
I have had differences with Alexander on education issues, especially his support for vouchers. But he does have legitimate concerns about the Covid. The recent spikes in Texas, Arizona, Florida, and California should frighten us all. The government on both the federal and state level should have intervened earlier and have had better coordination. On this particular issue, Alexander has a valid point.
I wonder if he will change his mind at the last minute about not seeking another Senate term. It is less than two months away from Tennessee’s early August primary. If he does not get the nomination in the event that he decides to run, he may run as an independent if he can get enough wealthy fat-cats to finance his campaign. He may still lose badly, but time will tell.
I’m sorry if this sounds like I’m picking on an old man, but why can’t these people just go away!
As Secretary of Education, and 18 years as a Senator, he has done NOTHING to improve the state of education in the US and everything to ruin it! From “Every Child Left Behind” to “No Student Succeeds”, his involvement in education has brought our education system down to 3rd world country status. But this is what happens when you have career politician lawyers running things they have zero knowledge about or passion for.