The SECURE Act introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) represents a major step toward preparedness for future public health emergencies. Supporting loan repayment for physicians accepted into the U.S. Epidemic Intelligence Service, the legislation offers an opportunity to meet the goal, and live up to the bill’s name of Securing Experts to Control, Understand, and Respond to Emergencies. The Infectious Diseases Society of America, which has worked to inform policy makers of the critical need to build the next generation of physicians equipped to detect, prevent and respond to disease outbreaks, and which helped to develop this bill, urges its inclusion in the upcoming reauthorization of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act.
A two-year fellowship program within the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Epidemic Intelligence Service was created in the 1950s in response to the threat of bioterror associated with the Korean War, providing on-the-job training that equips physicians and other health professionals to respond to public health emergencies. In recent years, these have included the attacks of September 11, 2001, anthrax attacks, the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak and the spread of Zika virus and its impacts in the Western Hemisphere, as well as natural disasters and deliberate threats. At the same time, the service developed future public health leaders. As the need has grown, however, the response capacity of the program has steadily diminished to the capacity of the 1980s, with physicians comprising only 30 percent of the current class, and medical school debt one of the most consistent barriers to choosing EIS service over more highly paid career options.
The SECURE Act addresses the need for a public health workforce that is trained, ready and sufficient to respond to large-scale infectious disease outbreaks, and other threats to our health security. Its inclusion in the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act will help to ensure our country sustains the public health leadership needed for successful responses to bioterror attacks, infectious diseases outbreaks, and other public health emergencies.