In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb is pointing to states like Maryland and Massachusetts as “laboratories for COVID control” that the incoming Biden administration can seek to emulate.
According to Dr. Gottlieb, Governor Hogan, “as chairman of the National Governors Association, helped create an interstate testing compact that pooled purchasing power across states and helped ensure supplies were apportioned equitably. Mr. Hogan…worked closely with leaders in low-income areas, where residents faced a disproportionate burden from the pandemic. He was also the first governor to send ‘strike teams’ into nursing homes, consisting of National Guard resources, public-health officials, and providers from local hospital systems. The goal of these efforts was to focus state resources into the communities most at risk from infection. Maryland’s strike teams became a model for other states.”
As COVID cases and hospitalizations rise throughout the country, Governor Hogan is continuing to provide proactive leadership in this crisis, warning Marylanders in a press conference last week that although the state is prepared for a surge they cannot let their guard down.
“The warning lights are starting to flash on the dashboard,’ he said, ‘and nobody should think for one minute that we are somehow immune to the spikes that we’re seeing spread in surrounding states in the region and across the country. The weeks and months ahead will be difficult and our collective actions will determine whether we can continue safely on this road to recovery…’I mean, it’s simple. It’s not that hard. Just wear the damn masks.”