CMA President Robert E. Wailes, M.D., issued the following statement in support of the California Pandemic Early Detection and Prevention Initiative:

“The COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder of the cost of not having a robust public health system in place. The United States was unprepared for COVID-19 because our public health and disease prevention systems have been chronically underfunded and neglected. We were left vulnerable to the pandemic which has led to a dramatic loss of human life, severely strained our hospitals and healthcare workers, and caused widespread economic destruction while disproportionally harming low-income and underserved communities. The California Medical Association is in strong support of the California Pandemic Early Detection and Prevention Initiative because everyone deserves to live a long and healthy life. This initiative will modernize local public health departments across our state and invest in science and technology to detect, prevent and defeat diseases before they can cause a deadly and devastating pandemic.”