In a national address delivered on January 12, 2021, American Medical Association (AMA) President Susan R. Bailey, MD, outlined immediate action necessary for a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The address, titled “COVID-19: The Long Road to Recovery,” focused on steps policymakers should take to tackle the pandemic and ensure that we are better prepared for future tests of our health system and public health infrastructure. Dr. Bailey also focused on the need for a science-based approach to decision-making, highlighted the scientifically rigorous process that produced the COVID-19 vaccines, and she urged Americans to get the vaccine when it is their turn.
Susan R. Bailey, MD
In the speech delivered via livestream through the National Press Club, Dr. Bailey delivered a call to action, and, once again, urged all leaders to follow science and data:
“We’ve learned much in our response to COVID-19 in 2020. The painful lessons of our long national nightmare run deep.
“But the most important lesson for this moment … and for the year ahead … is that leaving state and local officials to shoulder this burden alone without adequate support from the federal government is not going to work.
“Fifty different strategies across 50 states will continue to sow confusion and slow the process.
“The urgency of this moment demands a comprehensive and coordinated federal response.”
For the complete address, visit https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-underscores-need-coordinated-comprehensive-pandemic-response.
