Press Releases

LOWELL, MA – Last week, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee and Co-Founder of the bipartisan Pandemic Preparedness Caucus, secured passage of a pilot program designed by her bipartisan Bolstering Infectious Outbreaks (BIO) Preparedness Workforce Act. Signed into law by President Joe Biden on Friday, the program will strengthen the bio-preparedness and infectious disease workforce that has proven critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is simply no excuse for us to get caught flat-footed by another COVID-19 scale pandemic. We must apply the lessons learned over the past two and a half years now to ensure we’re better prepared to prevent another infectious disease outbreak in the future,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “That starts with investing in the experts who got us through the COVID: our bio-preparedness and infectious disease workers. Without critical investments to strengthen the pipeline of these experts, we risk leaving ourselves vulnerable to the next pandemic. The BIO Preparedness Workforce Pilot Program is a critical step in ensuring these critical positions are fully staffed and ready to respond to the next public health threat.”

The program based off Trahan’s BIO Preparedness Workforce Act will help strengthen the pipeline of bio-preparedness and infectious disease professionals by establishing a new loan repayment program for health care professionals who spend at least half of their time engaged in bio-preparedness and response activities or providing infectious diseases care. Further, the program aims to increase the number of underrepresented minority individuals serving as bio-preparedness or infectious diseases physicians.

“Rep. Trahan’s outstanding leadership makes an extraordinary difference to the frontline infectious diseases workforce,” said Carlos del Rio, MD, President of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and Professor at Emory University School of Medicine. “The BIO Preparedness Workforce Pilot Program—which she authored and successfully attached to the omnibus bill—will enable us to recruit the workforce we need to be better prepared for future outbreaks and pandemics and to launch more equitable and effective responses to infectious diseases.”

Additional supporting Organizations of the Bolstering Infectious Outbreaks (BIO) Preparedness Workforce Act include: the AIDS Institute, American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, American Dental Association, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, American Society for Microbiology, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, HIV Medicine Association, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, National Rural Health Association, Society for Health Care Epidemiology of America, Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists, University of Wisconsin Health System, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Vivent Health, Wisconsin Hospital Association, Wisconsin Medical Society.

Trahan first introduced the BIO Preparedness Workforce Act with Congressman David B. McKinley (R-WV-01) in October 2021. The bipartisan program was included as part of the year-end omnibus package that was signed into law by President Biden late last week.

More information on the BIO Preparedness Workforce Act can be accessed HERE. A digital copy of the legislation can be accessed HERE.

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