Earlier this year, US Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) introduced the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and (PREVENT) Pandemics Act. On March 15, the Senate Health, Energy, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee voted 22-2 to advance the legislation.

The most recent draft of the PREVENT Pandemics Act would, among other things, do the following to strengthen US pandemic preparedness:

• Authorize ~$1.9 billion in new spending, mostly for: early warning, real time monitoring, strengthening public health, and Strategic National Stockpile supply chain (note: this spending would subsequently have to be appropriated by congressional appropriations committee)

• Create an Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy within the Executive Office of the President. This office would be able to coordinate with other agencies to request appropriate funding and then direct the productive use of funding

• Set several new requirements for the FDA, including mandating prioritization of infectious disease drugs and biologics during a pandemic and publishing guidance on how clinical trial designs can be used to speed up development and review of drugs to address future public health emergencies

• Enables CDC to set up extensive genomic sequencing and directs CDC to improve data sharing

The purpose of this question is to understand the likelihood of the PREVENT Pandemics Act being made into law in the near future.

Will the US PREVENT Pandemics Act be made into law before February 2023?

This question will resolve as Yes if, before February 1, 2023, the PREVENT Pandemics Act has been made into law. This would almost certainly involve both the US House and Senate passing the legislation, and then the US President signing it. Any version of the PREVENT Pandemics Act being made into law would count.