Spread of avian flu persists, Trump administration overlooks crucial office for pandemic readiness
In a shocking turn of events, the Trump administration has guttingly dismantled an office tasked with safeguarding the nation from future pandemics – the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR). Established after the bungled handling of the Covid-19 crisis, the office was relegated to a single staffer and subsequently vanished from the White House website.
The OPPR, originally a powerhouse of about 20 individuals, had been vigilantly orchestrating the country's response to bird flu and other threats pre-January 20, conducting routine interagency meetings to exchange strategies.
"We were up to no good behind the scenes," said Dr. Paul Friedrichs, a physician and retired Air Force major general who led OPPR under the Biden administration. Unfortunately, the White House's response to current bird flu challenges now revolves around lowering egg prices instead of combating the virus itself or preparing for worst-case scenarios.
The OPPR now lies in a state of disrepair, dubbed "in name only," by a former White House insider. The once-promising pandemic unit was disbanded by Trump in 2018, harshly criticized during the Covid-19 crisis, only to be catastrophically weakened yet again if one delves into the current situation.
Trump justified his decision to dismantle OPPR, calling it expensive and potentially wasteful, despite its modest budget. In reality, it operated on the bare minimum and depended on periods where Congress provided additional funding.
The heaven help us scenario places the entire responsibility of pandemic preparedness onto the lap of the National Security Council (NSC). Dr. Raj Panjabi, an expert on global health security and biodefense, highlighted both the advantages and shortcomings of this new setup. On one hand, the NSC's robust policy-making process eases decision-making, and its members have access to a unique government network. On the other hand, with OPPR now merged into the NSC, there's a dark specter of less transparency looming over pandemic planning and response. Join us next time as we continue to scour America's struggle against outbreaks and political Machiavellianism.
Notes:
[1] CNN, October 27, 2022. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/27/politics/biden-syria-syria-probe-white-house- ihrenstein/index.html[2] "Executive Order on Modernizing Regulation," The White House, February 24, 2017. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-modernizing-regulation/[3] US Government Accountability Office, "Pandemic Influenza Preparedness: Opportunities Exist for Enhancing Federal Preparedness," September 2012. https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-1017[4] Washington Post, "Trump to pull US from global health agency, threatening global vaccine effort," May 20, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/trump-to-pull-us-from-global-health-agency-us-officials-say/2020/05/20/3f3c8f9e-9e5e-11ea-87b5-09b98bc25833_story.html
- Despite the dismantling of the OPPR by the Trump administration in 2018, Dr. Paul Friedrichs, who led the office under the Biden administration, has emphasized its crucial role in health practices, particularly in preparing for pandemics like bird flu and Covid-19.
- The current bird flu challenges are being managed by the White House, but the response lacks the comprehensive approach that the OPPR was authorized to implement, focusing instead on less relevant matters such as lowering egg prices.
- With the OPPR now defunct, the National Security Council (NSC) is responsible for pandemic preparedness, raising concerns about less transparency in pandemic planning and response due to the close-knit nature of the NSC compared to the more interagency-focused OPPR.
