New federal office on pandemics will replace one dedicated to Covid-19

WASHINGTON (CN) — President Joe Biden appointed a retired Air Force general to serve as the inaugural director of a new office on pandemic response.

The Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, which will report to the president, will replace the Covid-19 Response Team and Mpox Team at the White House, which itself is a Biden-era replacement of the Trump administration's Coronavirus Task Force.

Major General Paul Friedrichs, who steps into the role of director Aug. 7, has served as adviser to Biden and the National Security Council for the last month and previously served as the command surgeon for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The new office will lead, coordinate and implement measures to prepare and, if necessary, respond to biological threats or pathogens that could impact public health. 

As part of its mission, the office will oversee development and manufacture of medical countermeasures. It will work with the Department of Health and Human Services to support continued development of vaccines and treatments for Covid-19 and other public health threats. 

Every five years, the office will provide a preparedness and outlook report to Congress.

The office is a direct response to criticisms of the federal government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 1.1 million people as of July 15.

During the 2020 campaign, Biden criticized his predecessor for dismantling the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense, which had been in place from 2016 to 2018.

Trump administration officials said the directorate’s staff were folded into another office, but critics said keeping its structure could have helped the federal government respond to the pandemic.

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