One year later, I was mystified when the White House dissolved the office, leaving the country less prepared for pandemics like covid-19. ADIt’s impossible to assess the full impact of the 2018 decision to disband the White House office responsible for this work. Biological experts do remain in the White House and in our government. As a civil servant and the head of the directorate, I remained at the White House for several months after the transition. A White House office would have been able to elevate urgent issues fast, so they didn’t linger or devolve to inaction, as with coronavirus testing in the United States.

Source: Washington Post March 13, 2020 13:33 UTC