The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every aspect of life in Illinois, the United States, and throughout the world – and it continues to rage on. Just this year, the death toll has now reached over 1 million in the United States alone.
Health and economic disparities plagued working class and marginalized communities long before the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic struck, these pre-existing disparities only exacerbated the devastating effects of the virus in communities like so many in the 4th Congressional District.
For many working class, immigrant communities like those in the Northwest and Southwest sides of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, many families had no choice but to continue working the frontlines. Nurses, janitors, sanitation workers, meat packers, farmworkers, and so many others kept our nation afloat while putting their lives and their families at risk. As a result, compounded with the lack of access to affordable, quality healthcare, especially among undocumented communities, Latino, Black, and other working class, marginalized populations suffered the greatest rates of infection and mortality.
The US government has the ability to bring COVID-19 to an end and treat future pandemic prevention as a national priority and a matter of national security risk – because it is.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States readily responded to and brought a swift end to the H1N1 virus in part due to the ability to tap into a national stockpile of pandemic prevention resources. Republicans in the House and Senate subsequently made cuts to and refused to replenish the stockpile, which led to disastrous effects for the nation when COVID-19 emerged. Shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like masks, gloves, and sanitizer as well as severely disrupted supply chains reliant on off-shore manufacturing undoubtedly contributed to the loss of life here in the United States.
Moving forward, the federal government must execute an all-of-the above approach to preventing and mitigating the damage of future pandemics. Some key strategies include:
Investing in research of likely pathogens, prototype vaccines, and protocols and infrastructure for the rapid development and deployment of life-saving vaccines.
Tackling the misinformation apparatus that, as seen in the United States, sought to politicize the pandemic by sowing doubt in the scientific and medical community and its recommendations and guidelines aimed at mitigating the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Enhancing our capacity to review, assess, and mitigate biosecurity risks. This includes treating labs involved in the research of potentially deadly pathogens with the same level of caution applied to labs dealing with fissile, nuclear material.
Promote independent oversight of labs conducting dual-use research of concern and creating consequences for noncompliance with safety and security protocols, including shift supervision from the NIH and to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
Investing in pandemic prevention will save trillions of dollars and more importantly, potentially millions of lives. The US and the world must take lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure we, as a global community, are prepared for the next transmissible virus.
