Our congressmen and senators have taken an oath to support and defend our country “against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Those enemies include more than just domestic terrorists and foreign autocrats, they also include infectious disease killers.
We are still in an ongoing fight for survival against the COVID virus, which has so far killed more than a million Americans. Every year we lose another 30,000-50,000 of our citizens to influenza. The Respiratory Syncytial Virus threatens our youngest children, and this week is straining the capacities of our children’s hospitals. Even polio, thought to be fully contained, is now making a comeback. None of these infectious pathogens is strictly domestic. All are spread easily across our entire world, and thus we must fight them in every country, not just when they reach our borders.
Tuberculosis (TB) has been a scourge on humans for at least 9,000 years. Until COVID, TB was the single greatest infectious disease killer. This disease is increasing, and last year caused 1.6 million deaths.
Congress, in the next six weeks, has an opportunity to do something about TB, while also building up the global ability to recognize, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases in general. The End TB Now Act is being considered in both the House (H.R. 8654) and in the Senate (S. 3386). This bill does not require any additional funding, just directs the U.S Agency for International Development to focus its resources, build international partnerships, share expertise, and help countries improve their own medical systems to combat infectious diseases.
I ask you to take two minutes and call the offices of Sen. Romney (202-224-5251), Sen. Lee (202-224-5444), and your Congressman (Blake Moore 202-225-0453, Chris Stewart 202-225-9730, John Curtis 202-225-7751, Burgess Owens 202-225-3011). They work for you. Remind them of their oath to defend, and ask them to support this bill.
William E. Cosgrove, Cottonwood Heights