Rethinking the Pandemic Playbook

In Episode 2 of Reimagine podcast, I spoke with Former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration Dr. Scott Gottlieb, one of the earliest voices to predict the power of the novel coronavirus, what he calls the perfect pathogen.

So much of success or failure comes down to preparation. America failed to prepare for this pandemic. Our nation foresaw but did not prepare to adequately address the bottlenecks that hobbled our testing, the data gaps that led to imprecise lockdowns, nor the consequences of uncoordinated state responses in the middle of a crisis that has us playing whack-a-mole across our country to try to suppress this deadly virus.

It’s important to discuss these realities to make sure we don’t repeat mistakes.

I recently spoke with Dr. Scott Gottlieb on my new podcast, Reimagine with Eric Schmidt. A physician who’s served as the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, he was one of the earliest voices to predict the power of the novel coronavirus, what he calls the “perfect pathogen,” and the need to prepare.

He points out in our conversation that we have to reimagine public health moving forward as a matter of national security. Because our ability to prosper as a nation depends first and foremost on our ability to be healthy as a nation.

We didn’t heed Dr. Gottlieb’s warnings before COVID spread across the US and the world. And as he discussed on the podcast, he now worries we’re in the midst of a series of rotating regional pandemics, different in nature but not in substance. He predicted this will be where we are for at least another six months, and perhaps longer.

I’m still optimistic that this difficult time can become a turning point to rebuild something better.

America is better than this. Our leaders and our citizens are better than this. With the right message, and by looking out for one another, we can get the virus under control and sustainably carry on until we have treatments and a vaccine.

As we see cases start to drop, we need to remember that the way to get to control of the virus is to stop the spread. Fewer people infected means fewer transmissions. The quicker we can focus on that, the quicker we can get back to the America that we love.

Cities, counties, and states along with so many businesses are enforcing mask requirements and social distancing because the leaders above them are not. People are taking the defense against the virus into their own hands. These are hard times, which is why we need to come together to build back better.

I’m confident that if we listen to the science and to listen to experts, we can script a better ending to the year and continue to use this crisis to reimagine how to build a better, more prepared, and more prosperous world.