State Department To Launch Pandemic Response Office

CNN reports:

The Trump administration disbanded the National Security Council’s pandemic response office in 2018 — and now, on the defensive after a failed response to the coronavirus pandemic, they are planning to launch a similar office at the State Department.

The National Security Council hosted an interagency meeting Thursday to discuss the plans for the office, which will fall under the leadership of a new position: coordinator for pandemics, a senior administration official said.

Former officials say the administration could have been better prepared for the pandemic if it had left the original office in place instead of trying to replicate it even as the virus gained new ground.