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Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response

Events such as the anthrax attacks, the failed car bomb attempt in New York City, floods from Hurricane Katrina, and the recent influenza pandemic have raised concerns that the United States is vulnerable to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats and other emerging infectious diseases.

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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) leads federal efforts to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies, working with the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal, state, and local entities. HHS can strengthen emergency preparedness and response by:

  • Ensuring clear priorities are periodically reset and communicated for developing and acquiring medical countermeasures, such as drugs and vaccines, to respond to CBRN agents, emerging infectious diseases, and pandemic influenza.
  • Improving countermeasure development, such as establishing facilities to rapidly produce vaccines and countermeasures in an emergency; establishing the use of strategic investors to help fund development of new countermeasures; and improving regulatory requirements for their use.
  • Improving planning for public health emergencies and coordination between federal departments and state and local entities involved in public health emergency response.
  • Ensuring that the nation’s health care systems have “surge capacity”—the ability to respond to mass casualty events and adequately care for a sudden influx of patients with common or unusual medical needs.
Looking for our recommendations? Click on any report to find each associated recommendation and its current implementation status.

National Preparedness

Improvements Needed for Acquiring Medical Countermeasures to Threats from Terrorism and Other Sources
GAO-12-121, Oct 26, 2011

Influenza Pandemic

Lessons from the H1N1 Pandemic Should Be Incorporated into Future Planning
GAO-11-632, Jun 27, 2011

National Preparedness

DHS and HHS Can Further Strengthen Coordination for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Risk Assessments
GAO-11-606, Jun 21, 2011

Public Health Preparedness

Developing and Acquiring Medical Countermeasures Against Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Agents
GAO-11-567T, Apr 13, 2011

Emergency Preparedness

State Efforts to Plan for Medical Surge Could Benefit from Shared Guidance for Allocating Scarce Medical Resources
GAO-10-381T, Jan 25, 2010

More Reports

National Preparedness

Improvements Needed for Measuring Awardee Performance in Meeting Medical and Public Health Preparedness Goals
GAO-13-278, Mar 22, 2013

National Preparedness

FEMA Has Made Progress in Improving Grant Management and Assessing Capabilities, but Challenges Remain
GAO-13-456T, Mar 19, 2013

Emergency Preparedness

NRC Needs to Better Understand Likely Public Response to Radiological Incidents at Nuclear Power Plants
GAO-13-243, Mar 11, 2013

Influenza Pandemic

Agencies Report Progress in Plans to Protect Federal Workers but Oversight Could Be Improved
GAO-12-748, Jul 25, 2012

Economic Development

FEMA Has Made Limited Progress in Efforts to Develop and Implement a System to Assess National Preparedness Capabilities
GAO-11-51R, Oct 29, 2010

Emergency Preparedness

FEMA Faces Challenges Integrating Community Preparedness Programs into Its Strategic Approach
GAO-10-193, Jan 29, 2010

Influenza Pandemic

Monitoring and Assessing the Status of the National Pandemic Implementation Plan Needs Improvement
GAO-10-73, Nov 24, 2009

Emergency Management

Preliminary Observations on FEMA's Community Preparedness Programs Related to the National Preparedness System
GAO-10-105T, Oct 1, 2009

Influenza Pandemic

Gaps in Pandemic Planning and Preparedness Need to Be Addressed
GAO-09-909T, Jul 29, 2009

Influenza Pandemic

Greater Agency Accountability Needed to Protect Federal Workers in the Event of a Pandemic
GAO-09-783T, Jun 16, 2009
More...

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High Risk: Public Health Emergencies