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Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security Outlines Recommendations for Improving America's Readiness for the Next Pandemic

June 30, 2020 – Putting effective systems in place to reduce health and economic impacts is a challenge made considerably more difficult during a large disease outbreak. As policymakers at all levels continue to respond to COVID-19 and its lasting consequences, they must also prepare for the next pandemic, which could appear at any time. In response, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has outlined 11 recommendations for policymakers to better prepare to fight the next pandemic.
For over 20 years, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has worked to protect people’s health from epidemics and disasters and ensure community resilience by examining how innovations, policies, and programs can strengthen health security. In response to Senator Alexander’s call for crucial solutions that could be deployed to prepare the United States effectively for the next pandemic, ensuring American lives and livelihoods are protected, the Center proposes the following:

Expedite Development of Medical Countermeasures for Unknown Viral Threats through a New “Virus 201” Program in the United States
Establish a National Infectious Disease Forecasting Center
Prioritize Funding for Development of At-Home Diagnostic Technology
Modernize Public Health Data Infrastructure for 21st Century Disease Threats
Create a National Center for Pandemic and Disaster Nursing Research
Develop New Vaccine Delivery Platforms to Rapidly Immunize Millions in a Pandemic
Develop a National Strategy to Battle Misinformation and Disinformation During Infectious Disease Outbreaks
Create Deployable Research Response Teams in NDMS
Adopt a Health Defense Operations Designation
Create a Central Repository for Serosurveys and Public Health Observational Studies
Develop a Community Engagement Infrastructure to Assess and Activate Public Sentiment and Support for Outbreak Management

Read full summaries of the proposals.

For more information, please contact Anita Cicero, JD, Deputy Director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

The Center submitted these solutions for consideration to Senator Alexander in response to Preparing for the Next Pandemic, A White Paper.