US Pandemic Revamp Raises Worry of 'More Cooks in the Kitchen'

Covid-19 revealed how federal offices and agencies, as well as state and local public health offices, lack coordination or central control. Elevating ASPR is meant to better align some of those functions. But former health officials from the office and other agencies say that the changes don’t provide clarity on which parts of the federal government will be responsible for certain emergency-response activities. They also caution that the office needs additional resources. Nicole Lurie, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response under President Barack Obama, describes ASPR’s role as “the place where all of emergency response sort of comes together,” reporting directly to the secretary of Health and Human Service