Rep. Lori Trahan, Dr. Leana Wen, Rekha Lakshmanan, and Emily Gee discuss how to respond to a deluge of changing public health guidance, a minefield of conflicting information, and pandemic preparedness for the future.
Today, the Progressive Policy Institute hosted an event with Rep. Lori Trahan (MA-03) and an esteemed panel of medical and health policy experts on the sustainable policies lawmakers should consider to combat the omicron variant. The panel also discussed how to best balance the tradeoffs between combating the spread of COVID-19 and letting normal life resume — and how businesses, employers, families and individuals can best respond to the deluge of changing public health guidance on the virus.
“We need to get the virus to a manageable level — where hospitals aren’t overrun — but we will be living with it for years to come. Policies need to reflect that reality,” said Arielle Kane, Director of Health Policy at PPI and moderator of the event. “Thank you to Congresswoman Trahan, Dr. Leana Wen, Rekha Lakshmanan, and Emily Gee for lending their expertise to this important discussion on solutions to this continuing public health challenge, and for their leadership throughout this pandemic.”
Watch the event livestream here:
Representative Lori Trahan serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and sits on the subcommittees on Health, Consumer Protection and Commerce, and Oversight and Investigations. The Congresswoman is also a Co-Chair of the Pandemic Preparedness Caucus.
“With the creation and distribution of the vaccine, we’ve begun down the road to establishing a new normal with COVID-19 — but one where we can be protected from it, if we all do our part,” said Rep. Trahan during the event. “…Conversations about what the new normal is, what restrictions are too burdensome and which ones are practical safety measures — that keep people safe — are really important.”
In addition to Rep. Trahan, this event’s esteemed panelists included Leana S. Wen, MD, MSc, Research Professor of Health Policy and Management at George Washington University; Rekha Lakshmanan, Director of Advocacy and Policy, The Immunization Partnership and Contributing Expert, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy; and Emily Gee, Vice President and Coordinator for Health Policy at the Center for American Progress.
“At this point in this pandemic, we have to accept that we’re going to be living with COVID. What does that look like? It’s actually not a scientific answer as much as it is a policy and political answer,” said Dr. Leana Wen during the event. “…We in science can’t tell people what you value. Is the value going to be ‘we prioritize infection control above all else?’ Or is the value that we want society to move on, above all else? That’s the decision ahead of us.”
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org.
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Media Contact: Aaron White – awhite@ppionline.org
