Introduction
The Covid-19 pandemic brought emergency preparedness into the spotlight. In an unprecedented era of history, we’ve all had to grapple with what national and individual preparedness means in our post pandemic world. How do we evaluate the mistakes our country made during the pandemic and make changes to our emergency responses in the future? It’s a good question.
Let’s look at some real-time actions that American organizations are taking to implement stronger emergency preparedness in the days ahead.
The PREVENT Pandemics Act
The first thing we’ll examine is the PREVENT Pandemics act. The PREVENT Pandemics Act stands for “Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act.”1
This bipartisan legislation examines the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, how we as a nation have failed, and what leadership can do to equip America for future health emergencies. It’s safe to say that after the nightmarish effects of the past few years, none of us want to live through another pandemic. It fractured families. Devastated the economy. Isolated communities. Closed businesses. Overwhelmed health care workers. Killed over a million Americans. And brought many to a state of mental and emotional collapse.
The PREVENT Pandemics Act looks collectively at this devastation and how to bolster the nation against future attacks. This legislation offers thorough recommendations on how to strengthen American people and organizations, and bring about necessary change.