Cassidy, Katko seek to bolster nation’s pandemic preparedness, response

To improve America’s ability to swiftly respond to emerging public health threats and to continue battling COVID-19, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) are seeking federal funding to establish a COVID-19 and Pandemic Response Centers of Excellence Program, which would designate academic medical centers as research and communication hubs. 

“You have to be prepared when there is a public health crisis,” Rep. Cassidy said. “This bill is about science preparing us for the next pandemic.”

Sen. Cassidy and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) requested the funding in a recent letter accompanied by the bipartisan COVID-19 and Pandemic Response Centers of Excellence Act of 2021, H.R. 4292, which Rep. Katko sponsored on June 30 with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY).

Among numerous provisions, H.R. 4292 would authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to academic medical centers for the establishment or continued support of not less than 10 centers of excellence that address issues associated with COVID–19, including testing and diagnostics, patient care, best practices in the use of supplies and therapeutics, healthcare disparities, research, and education and training, among other items, according to the text of the bill.

In their letter, Sen. Cassidy and his colleague requested a robust funding increase to the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund to kickstart the new Centers of Excellence grant program, according to his office.

At the same time, H.R. 4292 would authorize $500 million total for the program and provide $10 million to the academic medical centers for real-time response efforts for COVID-19 and future pandemic preparedness, according to Sen. Cassidy’s office.

“Medical centers like SUNY Upstate Medical University and the University of Rochester were at the forefront of our pandemic response and recovery efforts. The critical research being done by our academic medical centers not only informed public health guidance to keep us safe but advanced several life-saving medical breakthroughs,” said Rep. Katko. “But more than a year has passed since the pandemic began, and we still have many unanswered questions.”

Rep. Katko said that the measure will “support our local medical centers, funding additional research to provide us with a better understanding of COVID-19 variants, the impacts this virus has on our health, and how to better prepare for future public health emergencies.”

Several universities endorsed H.R. 4292, along with the Infectious Diseases Society of America and Atrium Health, among others.