U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and more than a dozen other senators urged leading public health officials to take immediate steps to bolster the federal government’s and states’ testing and disease surveillance systems and infrastructure to rapidly expand the nation’s response to COVID-19.
“Quickly knowing who is infected, who may have a significant level of immunity, as well as who are the most vulnerable and need additional protection, is critical to safely reopening the economy,” wrote Sen. Cassidy and his colleagues in an April 21 letter sent to Dr. Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Admiral Brett Giroir, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and HHS Chief Information Officer Jose Arrieta.
Existing laws and systems may be applied to track the spread of the novel coronavirus to determine who may and may not be immune, the lawmakers wrote, adding that such information is critical to protect patients, workers and higher-risk populations, such as those who are older or those with comorbidities.
“Employment and social interaction rules can be dynamically adjusted to benefit the employee, workplace productivity, public health and stability, while containing the spread of disease,” according to their letter. “To expeditiously begin this process, existing capabilities at HHS and the CDC should be expanded and used, while states and territories build up their own detection and surveillance infrastructure.”
Sen. Cassidy and his colleagues also wrote that because such systems are governed by robust privacy laws, the CDC and HHS could build upon the existing systems so that their work may be completed as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“To begin to restore our economy, we … believe this work must begin now,” wrote Sen. Cassidy and his colleagues, who included U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Tom Carper (D-DE), among others.
U.S. Reps. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and Donna Shalala (D-FL) are among those leading a similar letter in the U.S. House.