Mission and Key Priorities

ASPR Mission and Key Priorities

ASPR leads the nation’s medical and public health preparedness for, response to, and recovery from disasters and public health emergencies. ASPR collaborates with hospitals, healthcare coalitions, biotech firms, community members, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, and other partners across the country to improve readiness and response capabilities.

In order to ensure ASPR is in a position to meet its mission in the current pandemic and beyond, we are focusing on three key areas: Respond, Restore, and Prepare.

Priority 1Respond well and quickly emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has required an unprecedented whole of government approach. ASPR leads the ongoing coordination of the COVID-19 response across HHS.

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in its work with DOD contributed significantly in the effort that resulted in the two authorized and one approved COVID vaccines in less than a year. These vaccines are among the most important tools available to respond to the pandemic. BARDA also develops therapeutics and diagnostics.

The National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) program deploys medical teams to communities in need to support local hospitals and health systems in the wake of disasters such as hurricanes as well as COVID-19 surges.

To make sure ASPR doesn’t lose the capability developed during COVID, ASPR is extending capabilities in the areas of logistics, operations, and distribution.

Priority 2Restore resources and capabilities diminished during the pandemic

Warehouse in the Strategic National Stockpile

ASPR is actively restoring and strengthening capabilities depleted during the pandemic such as the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and securing the public health supply chain.

The SNS will be replenished to levels at or above pre-COVID-19 amounts to ensure ASPR is prepared for any subsequent wave of cases and to do so – to the extent possible – with domestically managed supplies and equipment.

It also is critical to address the root cause of why supply chains were strained in the first place. ASPR is working to ensure a safe and consistent public health supply chain for medical materials, ingredients, and supplies that are critical for any national response to public health emergencies.

ASPR is strengthening the industrial base to secure and develop domestic capacity, retool and expand industry machinery, scale production facilities, train workforces, and ultimately infuse the supply chain and marketplace with products the U.S. needs to contain further pandemic waves.

Priority 3Prepare for future emergencies

Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O'Connell meets with regional personnell

In ASPR, we constantly scan the horizon to prepare for whatever may come next, whether natural or manmade. That’s why ASPR works with partner organizations to develop policies and identify frameworks that guide operations to enable ASPR to better prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters and emergencies.

One resource available to ASPR is the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE), the interagency body that reviews and recommends countermeasures for ASPR to focus on.

ASPR’S Health Care Readiness Programs provide a coordinated, national approach to preparing health care systems to surge and overcome other complex challenges associated with disaster health care by enhancing planning and cooperation and broadening the resources available during a disaster or public health emergency.