CHICAGO — In a letter to the Trump Administration today, leading national health care organizations urged full cooperation and sharing of all critical COVID-19 information with the Biden transition team. In their letter, the American Medical Association (AMA), American Hospital Association (AHA) and American Nurses Association (ANA) specifically called for: “all information about the capacity of the Strategic National Stockpile, the assets from Operation Warp Speed, and plans for dissemination of therapeutics and vaccines needs to be shared as quickly as possible to ensure that there is continuity in strategic planning so that there is no lapse in our ability to care for patients.”
The full text of the letter is below:
November 17, 2020
President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Trump,
As organizations representing the nation’s hospitals and health systems, physicians and registered nurses who remain on the front lines in the battle against COVID-19 and currently caring for tens of thousands of COVID-19 patients, we have been working with your Administration to defeat the pandemic. Now, as new therapeutics and vaccines are being developed and will begin to be deployed, we urge your Administration to work closely with the Biden transition team to share all critical information related to COVID-19.
Our nation is experiencing a new surge of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths as we enter into a holiday season that will undoubtedly lead to greater exposure to this deadly virus. Confronting the challenges of the pandemic is imperative to saving American lives. Real-time data and information on the supply of therapeutics, testing supplies, personal protective equipment, ventilators, hospital bed capacity and workforce availability to plan for further deployment of the nation’s assets needs to be shared to save countless lives. All information about the capacity of the Strategic National Stockpile, the assets from Operation Warp Speed, and plans for dissemination of therapeutics and vaccines needs to be shared as quickly as possible to ensure that there is continuity in strategic planning so that there is no lapse in our ability to care for patients.
As providers of care for all Americans, we see the suffering that is occurring in our communities due to COVID-19. We see families who have lost both parents from COVID-19; we see children suffering from long-term effects due to a COVID-19 infection; and we see minority populations disproportionately suffering from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is from this front line human perspective that we urge you to share critical data and information as soon as possible.
We stand ready to continue to work with your Administration to do all we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and provide care to those who have been infected.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Pollack
President and CEO
AHA
James L. Madara
CEO and EVP
AMA
Debbie Dawson Hatmaker PhD, RN, FAAN
Acting CEO
ANA
Media Contact:
About the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises and, driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.
