Ranking Member Greg Walden asked what Congress could do, from the witnesses’ perspective, to get ready for the Fall and offer support for the administration in their ongoing efforts to contain the virus. 

Dr. Redfield reiterated the importance of making Congress’s investment a sustainable one. Dr. Fauci also emphasized the necessity to establish “corporate memory” and develop a system of preparedness for future outbreaks. 

Admiral Giroir highlighted the limitations that are related to a lack of a national data infrastructure, specifically for public health resources. He urged Congress to utilize resources to promote vaccine confidence. 

Second wave predictions

When asked about his predictions for the mortality rates of a second wave, Dr. Fauci responded, “What we’d like to do is get this outbreak under control over the next couple of months, so that we have such a low baseline that when you do have the inevitable situation of cases appearing as you try to gradually reopen the country … that if you get a level that is very low you can contain — and contain means identify isolate and contact trace — rather than have such a high level that when you get increases, you have to mitigate right from the beginning.”