GAO: You screwed up. HHS: We promise to do better. GAO: When HHS: We'll get back to you on that . . .

The US response to Covid-19 has been shockingly ham-fisted and incompetent, almost consistently making the wrong strategic decision at every stage of the crisis.  The one silver lining I have highlighted is that Covid-19, in the scheme of things, is not particularly lethal.  Highly infectious but not particularly lethal.  

It is almost as if it has been a heavenly warning - Get your act together!

A stress test if you will.  My concern has been that, given as politicized as the "national" emergency has become, we will institutionally and politically choose to turn a blind eye to the lessons learned.

That we are even documenting those lessons is highlighted in U.S. health agency has 'persistent deficiencies' in its crisis response -watchdog by Kanishka Singh.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has "persistent deficiencies" in its ability to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies, the U.S. congressional watchdog warned in a report released on Thursday, citing concerns raised by the COVID-19 pandemic.

HHS is at "high risk" of mismanaging a future crisis, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Congressional auditing agency, said, noting that the department failed to implement some previously made recommendations to improve its pandemic response.

The GAO said in its report that well beyond the pandemic, there are various threats that underscore the need for being prepared.

"As devastating as the COVID-19 pandemic has been, more frequent extreme weather events, new viruses, and bad actors who threaten to cause intentional harm loom, making the deficiencies GAO has identified particularly concerning," the report said. "Not being sufficiently prepared for a range of public health emergencies can also negatively affect the time and resources needed to achieve full recovery."

But whether the government will actually listen to itself?  Not so cheery news.

As one example of the lack of preparedness by HHS, the GAO said that it had warned about shortages of COVID-19 tests beginning in September 2020 and then recommended in January last year that HHS develop a comprehensive national testing strategy.

In its response in May 2021, HHS told the watchdog it would provide a document stating its plans. "However, to date, HHS has not provided this document," the GAO report said.

"The department's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted longstanding concerns we have raised about its ability to execute its role leading federal public health and medical preparedness for, and response to, such public health emergencies," the GAO said.

HHS responded in a statement on Thursday: "We share GAO's focus and urgency in battling this once-in-a-century pandemic and desire to ensure we never again face a pandemic of this magnitude."