Executive Summary

At the time of publication of this report, coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has taken the lives of over 1 million Americans—and more than 6.4 million around the world—with many recovered patients living with long-term effects. As staggering as the losses of the last nearly 3 years have been, COVID-19 was a moderate pandemic, and as a result of a number of factors (e.g.,climate change, human behavior, increased global travel), there is a high likelihood of future pandemics. Due to continued advances in science and technology, the United States has the unique opportunity to transform future pandemic preparedness capabilities. The U.S. Government must seize the moment to transform its scientific capabilities in preparation for the increasing frequency of biological threats on the horizon. On September 3, 2021, the American Pandemic Preparedness: Transforming our Capabilities Plan(AP3) was released, outlining a bold vision to achieve the transformational capabilities needed to directly address future threats. AP3 includes five pillars:

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