The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives

The Honorable Mitchell McConnell
Senate Majority Leader

The Honorable Charles Schumer
Senate Minority Leader

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
House Minority Leader

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Schumer, and Minority Leader McCarthy:

We write today to ensure that you are aware of the range of knowledge, skills, experience, and resources the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine can bring to bear on the COVID-19 emergency.  Amid great uncertainty, you and other elected leaders are working through difficult and urgent decisions, setting precedents, and putting policy mechanisms in motion to protect public health and mitigate social and economic damage.  At the same time, leaders in federal agencies and state and local governments are trying to redirect capacity to respond in ways that complement congressional actions.  It is clear that our country will be dealing with the aftershocks of this crisis for years to come — and we can be certain that we will encounter crises like this again in the future.  

The National Academies stand ready to convene America’s best minds in research, government, medicine, and private industry to marshal evidence-based insights and advice for confronting today’s pandemic and future crises.  In addition, scientific, engineering, and medical organizations around the globe recognize our leadership and coordinate their efforts with ours, further expanding our reach and access to the world’s best minds on critical issues.

We have developed a number of resources that may help you address issues that emerge as this crisis evolves.

In February, at the request of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, we established the Standing Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21^st Century Health Threats. Capable of responding rapidly to federal requests, this group of 15 experts is actively informing OSTP and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with evidence-based advice on critical health, science, and policy issues related to the pandemic.  The committee has already answered questions about the effectiveness and costs of social distancing measures to counter COVID-19, reports of severe illness in young adults in Italy, the incubation period of the virus, and how long it survives on a variety of surfaces.  Here is a link to some of the committee’s work.  If helpful, we would be pleased to brief you and your staff on its activities to date.

We are also assessing how this medical crisis is quickly morphing into a broader societal crisis, and what from our existing body of work can inform policy actions.  The following are examples of topics the Academies have examined recently that offer insights into some of the challenges to come:

• Building adaptable and resilient supply chains in disaster situations
• The U.S. role in global health
• Streamlining regulatory approval of new treatments
• Securing American election systems
• Addressing social isolation and loneliness in adults
• Adjusting standards of health care in crises
• Education, training, and certification pathways for a middle-skilled workforce
• Preparation, protection, and treatment for pandemic influenza
• Countering online misinformation related to science, engineering, and medicine
• Grand challenges in engineering

Experience with past crises suggests that society will continue to meet similar challenges in the years ahead — creating the demand for innovative near-term responses, as well as prudent approaches for mitigating longer-term effects and the emergence of second- and third-wave infections.  We also know that events such as these provide critical real-time opportunities to survey community responses, collect data, and assess best practices, to better understand the risks and benefits of our actions.

The National Academies can assist you in gathering the expertise and evidence to address emerging issues such as:

• Critical infrastructure operations — reduced workforce, capabilities and capacity, and balancing industry prerogatives and public needs
• Resilience of testing, medical treatment, food, technology, and other supply chains
• Barriers to rapid scaling of vaccine production
• Protective measures for frontline responders, the public, and workers in emergencies
• Artificial intelligence and advanced analytics for pandemic modeling, early warning systems, and response
• Comparative analyses of non-U.S. testing and treatment of infectious disease
• Ways to ensure safe voting and secure elections during pandemics
• Rapid digitalization in economic recovery, and the efficacy of distance learning, virtual meetings, telemedicine, and remote work
• The compounded impacts of natural disasters, infectious disease, and socio-economic factors
• The communication of risk to subpopulations, and understanding their responses
• National security vulnerabilities introduced by disasters

The National Academies are unparalleled in our breadth of expertise, access to the best minds, and ability to generate actionable, evidence-based, and practical advice.  We have a long history of scanning the horizon for societal challenges that can be addressed through the ingenuity and rigor of American science, engineering, and medical expertise, and helping government decision-makers prioritize public investment.  As always, we stand ready to help.

Sincerely,

Marcia McNutt
President, National Academy of Sciences

John L. Anderson
President, National Academy of Engineering

Victor J. Dzau
President, National Academy of Medicine