Washington: In order to prepare for pandemics and other "biological threats," the US government has established a new agency, with President Joe Biden appointing a retired Air Force general to lead the initiative.

The Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR) was introduced by the White House on Friday. The agency will be in charge of organizing medical and scientific research against pandemics, developing responses to public health emergencies, and submitting routine reports to Congress.

The White House stated in a press release that this office would be permanent and be tasked with "leading, coordinating, and implementing actions related to preparedness for, and response to, known and unknown biological threats or pathogens." 

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Retired Air Force Major General Paul Friedrichs, who is presently President Joe Biden's special assistant and the White House National Security Council's senior director for global health security and biodefense, will be in charge of the new office. At one time, Friedrichs was a joint staff surgeon at the Pentagon, where he also provided guidance to the Covid-19 task force for the military.

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Friedrichs will start putting together a team after the OPPR officially launches on August 7. According to the New York Times, among his duties will be to make sure the Strategic National Stockpile is adequately stocked with medical supplies and to work with Congress to secure funding for US preparedness initiatives.

The agency will consult with business, academia, and the Department of Health and Human Services to develop the "next generation of medical countermeasures," including vaccines, in addition to developing a government response to potential pandemics. Among other pathogens, its work will concentrate on Covid-19, monkeypox, polio, avian and human influenza, and RSV.

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The office was established as part of a comprehensive government spending plan that was passed in late 2022, taking over the responsibilities of the White House's Covid-19 response team, which was shut down in May. It will be required to deliver a "outlook report" and a separate "preparedness review" to legislators every two years and five years, respectively.