No other state has an entity like that, although a big state like Texas could benefit from one. It would be based at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and operate in partnership with other campuses and academic centers across the state, as well as the state health and emergency management departments.
Based on the National Guard model, the institute would train 3,500 public health professionals across the state who would be ready to mobilize if a pandemic occurred. The institute would have about 100 full-time employees such as epidemiologists and data analysts to conduct training, build up the statewide laboratory infrastructure and improve statistical reporting. Training opportunities for staffers in the reserve would be ongoing and include, again under the National Guard model, weekend simulations of pandemics.
Most of the funding would come from the $16 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds Texas has received. In the first two years, the institute would need about $30 million annually, then $20 million annually after that.
It’s a good proposal, and it represents forward thinking instead of just reacting to a crisis. But with all these good intentions, the elephant in the room remains: Would state officials actually heed the advice of this new institute if a pandemic strikes?
They did, mostly, when coronavirus started sweeping through Texas and the nation. The sensible response was wearing masks and social distancing, and then taking vaccines when they became available. But it didn’t take very long for some Republican members of the Legislature to begin complaining that these restrictions violated public “freedom.”
When Dallas beauty salon owner Shelly Luther notoriously defied orders to keep her business closed for a few more weeks, state officials virtually trampled each other pledging to support her and even pay her fine and revoke the law that permitted violators to be jailed. Gov. Greg Abbott already has a Republican challenger for re-election, and one of his main complaints is that Abbott reacted too strongly to the pandemic by actually closing bars temporarily and ordering other safeguards. The Legislature just passed new laws limiting a future governor from requiring various types of precautions without legislative support if another pandemic strikes.
In view of this response, Texans need to know if the new Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute would be staffed by the best experts available — and whether their advice would be heeded if another pandemic threatened. They would undoubtedly suggest safeguards that some businesses or people wouldn’t like. Would their sound medical advice be implemented … or scorned as needless infringements of public “freedom” to do as much or as little as you wanted during a public health crisis?
On paper, the institute sounds like an excellent idea. How it plays out in reality is what will matter.