US inadequately prepared to deal with COVID-19 or other pandemics despite high GHS index score

Despite high scores on the Global Health Security (GHS) index, the United States has fundamentally weak health security, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) warns, and its struggle with COVID-19 has emphasized its inadequate ability to deal with a pandemic.

COVID-19 has spawned more than 2,500,000 cases worldwide since its discovery last December, and the NTI noted that all countries have critical preparation gaps to close. Since then, however, the United States has become the epicenter of cases, accounting for more than 800,000 confirmed infections.

Despite this, the United States has a GHI score of 83.5 out of 100, the top score of 195 countries assessed. This has created misconceptions about its preparedness, according to NTI.

“Significant preparedness gaps remain, and some of those are playing out in the current crisis,” NTI said in a statement. “The United States’ response to the COVID-19 outbreak to date shows that capacity alone is insufficient if that capacity isn’t fully leveraged. Strong health systems must be in place to serve all populations, and effective political leadership that instills confidence in the government’s response is crucial.”

The organization put the U.S. response into perspective. Its weakest areas were in its health system itself, healthcare access — it ranked 175 out of 195 countries in this area — care capacity, plus political and security risks alongside socio-economic resilience. Further, the United States hosts a zero level of public confidence in government, meaning less than 25 percent of its populace believe it to be capable.

There are areas the nation has done well, such as detection. The country has strong capacities for lab systems, surveillance and reporting, a robust epidemiology workforce, and capable means of integrating data across national sectors, NTI noted. Further, the country is, in theory, well-positioned to model best practices for preparedness and aid other countries — though problematically, it has shown a lack of support for others.

This indicates significant gaps in the overall U.S. GHS index country profile and that, according to NTI, should be greatly concerning to both the public and policymakers, because it certainly concerns health care experts.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has proven that a threat anywhere is a threat everywhere, and no country can rely on the strength of its own preparedness alone,” NTI said. “The global average GHS Index score is just 40.2, and the response to the COVID-19 outbreak makes it clear that the world is collectively unprepared for a pandemic. Plans to combat COVID-19 require local, national, regional, and global action, and the United States has an obligation to address the gaps in its own system and to invest in countries that are far less prepared.”