"The [traditional] pandemic preparedness playbook [that RFK is trying to remove] entails three basic steps.
First, catalog every existing pathogen by sending scientists to every remote place (bat caves in China, and the like), take biological samples of wildlife there, and bring them back to labs. ...
Second, evaluate the risk of each pathogen infecting humans by testing its ability to penetrate human cells—and sometimes even genetically modifying it to make this more likely. The latter practice is now called dangerous gain-of-function (dGOF) research. ... . The idea is to estimate the likelihood that the infectious pathogen will mutate in a way that could conceivably threaten humans.
Third, having identified which few of the countless pathogens studied pose the greatest risk, develop vaccines and therapeutics before they leap into human populations. Crucially, this step involves awarding large contracts to pharmaceutical manufacturers to develop and stockpile the countermeasures."
RFK proposes:
1) to strike these above goals from NIH pandemic preparedness playbook
2) Focus on "getting everyone to eat better and exercise," since healthy people have better outcomes in infectious outbreaks.
[1] https://www.city-journal.org/article/nih-jay-bhattacharya-co...