Policy Lessons from the History of Pandemic Preparedness
2020
This report is a white paper from the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University that focuses on the Strategic National Stockpile of medical and protective equipment as part of pandemic response efforts. In the years leading up to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, supplies of vital protective equipment were diminished. The report includes three major sections: the development of the Strategic National Stockpile, lack of pandemic vigilance in the Stockpile, and proposed recommendation for the Stockpile. Their recommendations include continued funding and management of consistent inventory, donation of near-expiration items, expansion of state, regional, local, and hospital preparedness stockpiles, and the establishment of a permanent sentinel organization for pandemic preparedness stockpiles. Adequate stockpiles of protective equipment are essential for protecting health care workers and first responders from infection during COVID-19 and future pandemics.
Policy Lessons from the History of Pandemic Preparedness
Source:
Busenberg G. Policy Lessons from the History of Pandemic Preparedness. Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics 2020. https://ethics.harvard.edu/pandemic-preparedness.