Opinion: Treat pandemics like national security threats
Pandemics should be treated not only as public health emergencies but as national security threats given the devastation they cause, according to a July 20 STAT opinion piece co-authored by David Blumenthal, professor of the practice of public health and health policy at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The authors argued that COVID-19 was an unparalleled national security disaster, which claimed almost as many lives as all of the wars in the nation’s history combined, and caused widespread damage to the economy, education, social stability, and public trust. Looking ahead, they warned that future pandemics could be even worse given that advances in artificial intelligence may increase the risk of engineered pathogens.
They proposed a comprehensive pandemic preparedness strategy that includes building a reliable, permanent biosecurity advisory structure within the White House; rebuilding and expanding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; strengthening global disease detection efforts; investing in state and local public health infrastructure; and supporting research on vaccines, treatments, and mitigation strategies.
“These reforms may seem a tall order, especially since Americans appear to be in near-total pandemic denial and anxious to put the COVID experience behind them,” the authors wrote. “But health and national security leaders cannot afford the same complacency. As we enter our country’s 251st year, there is no greater threat to the nation’s welfare than the next looming pandemic.”
Read the STAT opinion piece: It’s time to treat pandemics as threats to national security
