Pandemic shows U.S. needs to beef up biological defenses




Federal Drive with Tom Temin show

Summary: Plans for dealing with pandemics go back a ways. Yet the government seemed a little off guard when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit U.S. shores. Now a bipartisan commission, which warned of the need for strong biological defense plans back in 2015, recommends what it calls an Apollo plan for dealing with the next one. I spoke with the co-chairmen of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense. Former Senator Joe Lieberman, and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. I asked, didn't the George W. Bush administration develop a pandemic response plan. You hear Ridge first. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices