Senior Fellow, writer, and health care policy consultant, Dr. Tevi Troy, recently published an opinion piece in The New York Observer. In his article titled “With Ramadan Here and the Haj Coming, Do We Need to Worry About MERS?” Dr. Troy highlighted concerns regarding the prevention and management of infectious diseases, especially those caused by coronaviruses. This instance is being compared 2004 SARS outbreak that killed over 800 people and cost upwards of $50 billion worldwide, and "is a stark reminder about the need to take seriously the threat of coronaviruses." In particular, Dr. Troy discussed the management of SARS by Chinese officials and the more recent handling of the MERS outbreak by Saudi Arabia public health officials. He emphasized the importance of countermeasures including the improvement of infection-control procedures as well as the development of vaccine platforms for coronaviruses. Dr. Troy’s article may be found here.

Dr. Troy is the president of the American Health Policy Institute and former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, Dr. Troy has recently published U.S. Health Policy: An Insider’s Perspective, a thoughtful compilation of his articles addressing a variety of subjects including the Affordable Cara Act, electronic health records, biopreparedness, life science innovation, and Medicare.