Study COVID to be prepared

Consider it pragmatism, not pessimism, if the following thought has floated like an unwelcome cloud into your mind this summer: What if we have to go through another pandemic?

It’s not something many people would like to mull. Long Island is only just emerging from COVID-19, which has meant a well-deserved moment of celebration in recent weeks. New York’s state of emergency is officially over and restrictions are sailing away. But now, while some of the worst dangers appear to have passed and the memory of the public health disaster is still fresh, it’s the right time to start assessing our performance and preparing for the next threat.

To do so, we need a broad and clear-eyed look at the pandemic. Creating a federal commission on the coronavirus pandemic in the United States would provide just that.

Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey has introduced a measure similar to the law that created the well-respected 9/11 Commission whose detailed report on that tragic day resulted in a sober accounting, putting forward smart suggestions to make us safer. This new commission would be tasked with investigating all sides of the pandemic, from its origins to its effects, plus providing an accounting of the country's response to its threat. Members of the bipartisan panel would have to include representatives from state government as well as experts in public health to keep the focus on preparedness. Most importantly, it would have subpoena power.

But politics has killed plenty of worthy endeavors before, including another proposed bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. That was blocked by Senate Republicans last month. Unfortunately, this commission seems to be similarly stalled.

Meanwhile, some experts, academics and philanthropists have been moving forward toward an outside review. The so-called Covid Commission Planning Group is financially supported by sources across the ideological spectrum and headed by Philip Zelikow, executive director of the 9/11 Commission and an earlier commission on federal election reform. The effort alone wouldn’t have the authority a congressionally or presidentially sanctioned initiative would, but the group is right that there’s an urgent need to look back and plan now.

Key questions about the pandemic abound. Why did the U.S., a superpower, suffer such serious shortages of protective gear and medical equipment? Could testing and lockdown regimes have been better implemented? How do we better replicate the success of quickly developing a vaccine and manufacturing it? From where exactly did the pandemic originate? What reforms to supply chains, disaster prep plans, and the medical system need to be put in place before the next emergency?

Only by understanding what we need to do better can we keep that ugly thought of having to do this again at bay.