The Biden-Harris administration launched a new Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy on Friday.

The office is designed to lead, coordinate and implement plans to prepare for biological threats that could lead to another pandemic or significant public health disruption, the White House said in a statement.

What You Need To Know

  • The Biden-Harris administration launched a new Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy on Friday

  • The new office will lead, coordinate and implement plans to prepare for known and unknown biological threats and pathogens

  • It replaces the COVID-19 Response Team President Biden established on his first day in office in 2021

  • Its tasks include developing policies and responses to potential public health outbreaks from COVID-19, Mpox, polio, RSV and influenza

A permanent office in the Executive Office of the President, it replaces the COVID-19 Response Team President Biden established on his first day in office in early 2021 and the Mpox Response Team his administration established last August to respond to an outbreak of the monkeypox virus.

The Pandemic Preparedness office will work to develop policies and responses to potential public health outbreaks from COVID-19, Mpox, polio, RSV and avian and human influenza, as well as unknown biological threats or pathogens, the statement said.

It will also lead federal science and technology groups to develop and manufacture vaccines, tests and treatments, as the Biden-Harris administration did in response to COVID-19.

By law, the new office is required to provide updates on the country’s pandemic preparedness to Congress every other year.

Retired Major General Paul Friedrichs will serve as director starting August 7. A board-certified physician, Friedrichs currently serves as senior director for global health security and biodefense at the National Security Council.