Experts worry 'we are not prepared' for pandemic under Trump, RFK Jr.
Source: USA Today
Updated May 8, 2026, 4:01 p.m. ET
World Health Organization officials have assured that the hantavirus outbreak is not the start of a pandemic. But as more headlines emerge about the potentially deadly infection, many are reminded of the COVID pandemic − and worried about the United State's preparedness.
"It's very much, we hope, under control," President Donald Trump told reporters when asked if he had been briefed on the virus. But some said his remarks don't instill confidence. “You don’t manage one (disease) you think is going to become a pandemic with hope alone," Dr. Céline Gounder, a physician who specializes in infectious diseases and global health, told reporters on May 8. USA TODAY has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.
Preparedness concerns have been fueled by the administration's history of actions that medical experts say weaken public health, from spreading health misinformation to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ending long-standing childhood vaccine recommendations. Public trust in health institutions also eroded in the response to the COVID pandemic — spanning both Trump's and former President Joe Biden's administrations — which included communication missteps that former officials have publicly reflected on.
In a hantavirus-focused press briefing on May 7, the Infectious Diseases Society of America's CEO, Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, shared concerns that “we are not prepared" for public health crises.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2026/05/08/trump-rfk-jr-prepared-potential-pandemics/89991254007/
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