IDSA and HIVMA Congratulate the President-elect, Offer Guidance on Pandemic Response
The Infectious Diseases Society of America and its HIV Medicine Association have reached out today to President-elect Joe Biden to congratulate him and to offer their memberships’ expertise as the new administration takes on the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and other infectious diseases threats.
Representing more than 12,000 infectious diseases and HIV physicians, scientists, public health professionals and other health care providers, the organizations’ members serve on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are encouraged by the Biden-Harris Plan to Beat COVID-19. IDSA and HIVMA appreciate the President-elect’s commitment to keeping scientists and public health leaders central to the response to this pandemic, including in daily communications of findings and recommendations to the public. The policies outlined by the new administration to strengthen our current response, invest in global health security and re-engage with international partners are important both to controlling the current pandemic and to protecting ourselves from future threats.
IDSA and HIVMA look forward to more details of President-elect Biden’s plan and urge his administration to put it swiftly into action, with efforts to ensure:
- Universal adherence to masking recommendations;
- A comprehensive, national strategy to support the manufacturing and acquisition of personal protective equipment and testing supplies;
- The development of diagnostic tests, therapeutics and vaccines that are based on sufficient safety and efficacy data, according to the rigorous standards of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and evaluation by its scientists and external expert advisors;
- Significant new resources to support the response, including public health infrastructure, vaccine distribution and data collection systems;
- Expanded broadband internet and cell service to support telehealth and reduce the digital divide in isolated rural areas;
- Consistent financial assistance and policies to address economic disparities and to support essential workers exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in getting tested and quarantining;
- Strong support for the expert clinical, scientific and public health workforce needed to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19, effectively prepare for future pandemics and confront other current infectious diseases threats.
As the new administration approaches the urgent and immediate public health challenges of the moment, it must also confront ongoing infectious diseases threats and epidemics that continue in the midst of the current pandemic, including antimicrobial resistance, efforts to end HIV as an epidemic and the hepatitis C and opioid epidemics.
IDSA and HIVMA look forward to working with the Biden Coronavirus Task Force and the incoming administration to overcome the infectious diseases threats facing our increasingly interconnected world.