Four Steps to Building the Public Health System Needed to Cope With the Next Pandemic

This article identifies four key steps to preparing for the next the next public health emergency. First, public health must invest in a modernized data infrastructure that connects health and public health systems. Second, the contact tracing and disease investigation specialist workforce should be expanded, and processes set up to grow this workforce quickly during times of acute crisis. Third, better contact tracing policies should be put into place prior outbreaks to support public health systems’ ability to respond effectively. And finally, increase public awareness of and trust in their local public health infrastructure.