Biden’s national security adviser says Trump administrator did not take pandemic surveillance seriously

As President Joe Biden strives to implement a stronger set of strategies to deal with the coronavirus pandemic than those implemented during his predecessor’s tenure, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan highlighted the shortcomings of the previous administration that could have contributed to the current severity of the outbreak.

“What I think is that the Trump administration has not taken pandemic surveillance as seriously as it should have,” the White House official said Sunday morning. Face the nation, where he underlined the importance of foresight in comments to Margaret Brennan of CBS News.

“I think it’s absolutely the case, and we’ve seen it in COVID-19, that pandemics represent one of the most serious threats to the lives and livelihoods of Americans,” Sullivan told the program moderator. “And, therefore, our intelligence community should, at all levels, elevate its tools, resources, practices to focus on the detection, prevention and response to pandemics.”

A comprehensive effort to take these steps “is something the Biden administration will pursue,” he continued. When asked if the intelligence community had failed in this regard under Trump, Sullivan cited the former administration’s decision to disband the Global Health Security and Biodefense Team, established in 2015 under Barack’s presidency. Obama for the express purpose of preparing for a pandemic.

“It’s the kind of thing, the kind of step, that we can’t see moving forward,” Sullivan said. “So whether it is the types of policy tools required, the types of intelligence tools required or the type of engagement in international trade institutions required … it will be important for every future administration to improve. global health., biological preparedness and pandemic preparedness the highest priority in national security. “

The national security officer also shared brief remarks about the origins of COVID-19. It is understood that the first high-profile cases of respiratory illness were identified in Wuhan, China during the latter part of 2019, and speculation has linked the emergence to a laboratory within the Wuhan Institute of Virology. for a certain time.

Theories as to how the virus came about have been subject to speculation throughout the pandemic. In January, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Federal Department “had reason to believe” that researchers at the Institute of Virology were sick with COVID-19 months before documented cases suggested it. The State Department released additional information regarding the allegations around the same time, while staff at the World Health Organization launched an investigation.

Sullivan told Brennan on Sunday that the Biden administration could neither confirm nor deny information relating to the origins of COVID-19 until the formal investigation is completed.

“This is why the WHO investigation should be left to scientists and experts to expose it, without any interference from a government, because that is the only way we are going to know. what are the origins of all this. a position to say how COVID-19 came to this world. All I can do is call on WHO to do its job to the best of its ability. “

Newsweek contacted the White House and Trump’s office for comment, but did not receive responses in time for publication.