White House creates office to target future pandemics, ongoing health threats

The White House is launching an office that will prepare for future pandemics and fight existing threats such as COVID-19 and influenza.

President Biden has appointed retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Paul A. Friedrichs to lead the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy.

The administration said the office will take over for teams that led the response to COVID-19 and mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. Mr. Biden declared an end to the public health emergency around the coronavirus in May and his COVID-19 coordinator, Ashish Jha, left the White House.

The OPPR “will be a permanent office in the Executive Office of the President (EOP) charged with leading, coordinating and implementing actions related to preparedness for, and response to, known and unknown biological threats or pathogens that could lead to a pandemic or to significant public health-related disruptions in the United States,” the White House said Friday in a fact sheet.

The administration said the pandemic office will oversee efforts to develop therapies or next-generation vaccines for existing and emerging threats. As it stands, the U.S. is set to deploy the first vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus vaccine — in adults 60 and older — in the fall alongside flu shots and COVID-19 boosters.

The new office will generate reports to Congress on pandemic preparedness at regular intervals.

Maj. Gen. Friedrichs is a special assistant to the president and senior director for global health security and biodefense at the National Security Council. His resume includes a long list of duties involving patients and global health initiatives through the Defense Department.

“Over the course of his 37-year career, he has led military hospitals and regional and global health care systems, published multiple medical papers, and consistently sought opportunities to partner with colleagues to improve health care delivery and preparedness,” the White House said.

Sen. Patty Murray, Washington Democrat, applauded the new office and said it was created by her PREVENT Pandemics Act, which became law in December after a bipartisan push with then-Sen. Richard Burr, North Carolina Republican.

“I worked hard to write and pass this legislation because it was painfully clear to me our nation was not ready for a crisis like COVID, and I think it’s painfully clear to everyone we cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes,” she said.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.