A U.S. Air Force pilot receives the COVID-19 vaccine at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, Jan. 21, 2021. The Biden administration has announced a strategy that, among other goals, aims to bring the timeline for developing new vaccines down to 100 days.

A U.S. Air Force pilot receives the COVID-19 vaccine at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, Jan. 21, 2021. The Biden administration has announced a strategy that, among other goals, aims to bring the timeline for developing new vaccines down to 100 days. U.S. Air Force / Airman 1st Class Kiaundra Miller

White House Aims for Bio-Defense ‘Moonshots’ In New Strategy

Biden wants more rapid testing, vaccine production, etc. using breakthrough technologies.

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced a new biodefense strategy intended to help protect the United States from future biological threats and mitigate the effects of pandemics and communicable diseases.

As part of that strategy, the administration is requesting $88 billion in pandemic preparedness over the course of the next five years, in part to fund new research to predict outbreaks before they become pandemics, accelerate rapid testing to get ahead of where viruses are moving, and to bring the timeline for developing vaccines down to three months. 

Some of the strategy’s goals include things like detecting the spread of pathogens before patients even begin to show symptoms like fever, developing a way to easily diagnose new pathogens within 12 hours of an outbreak, and scaling up the number of diagnostic tests kits by tens of thousands within a week and rapid tests within 90 days. One particularly lofty goal is to be able to develop a new vaccine in 100 days, and to have enough for the entire U.S. population after 130 days. 

A senior administration official speaking to reporters before the announcement described it as a series of “moonshots” and acknowledged that “the science and technology goals layout timelines that are not possible today, but these capabilities can be achieved and are within our reach with the right resources over the next five to 10 years.”

Meeting some of those targets will require scaling up data collection efforts at research facilities around the globe. 

The ability to monitor a small outbreak before it becomes a pandemic would require pathogen researchers to collect and structure massive amounts of data on emerging pathogens, particularly in birds, to predict the leap to humans as well as further mutations. New approaches to RNA research could deliver therapeutic aids (that boost antibodies) to ease pandemics in a fraction of the time it takes to create a vaccine that meets FDA emergency use criteria. And new forms of plant-based vaccines could also allow for the scaling up of vaccine production by orders of magnitude. The administration official did not specify exactly what technologies they will invest in to meet the strategy’s goals. 

But while it is technically feasible to reach these goals, the government has had a hard time meeting even mundane needs related to pandemics, such as having enough protective gear on hand for healthcare workers. In addition to funding new science and technology, the strategy also seeks to ensure the government is “not stuck with just a few [protective gear] providers, that we have a steady state and market supply, that we have the ability to manufacture surge capacity … that we have storage and inventory capacity.”

The strategy also aims to boost the number of local healthcare workers—including lab technicians, epidemiologists, veterinarians, and community-based health workers—in all 50 states.

But with an estimated shortage of 29,400 nurse practitioners by 2025 and shortages of other healthcare workers looming, it’s not clear how the government can overcome current trends. 

The senior official said bringing in more traditional frontline healthcare workers is a key focus, but many of the positions the strategy seeks will be related to research and data collection. That will require expanding the CDC’s epidemiology field officer program, bringing more epidemiologists to every state, and “trying to ensure we expand state public health veterinarians and staff in all 50 states and then, you know, really trying to see if we can do better on this front going forward.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.