Commonground
Senior Moderator
08/27/2026
By John Knox, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
Topic: Medical Countermeasures Preparedness and Response
In emergency response, success depends on teamwork long before the sirens sound. When firefighters arrive at a burning building, they rely on dispatchers, emergency medical personnel, emergency managers, and countless others who work together for a shared purpose.
The same is true for medical countermeasures (MCMs). The diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, and other medical countermeasures used during and following a public health emergency don’t appear overnight and don’t result from any individual effort.
The Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) was established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2006 and codified by Congress in 2019 as part of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPAIA). PAHPAIA formalized this interagency body and granted authorities that established a robust pipeline to review and propose investments for MCMs.
Continued: https://www.aspr.gov/news-updates/blog/2026-08/phemce-ensures-effective-medical-countermeasure
By John Knox, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
Topic: Medical Countermeasures Preparedness and Response
In emergency response, success depends on teamwork long before the sirens sound. When firefighters arrive at a burning building, they rely on dispatchers, emergency medical personnel, emergency managers, and countless others who work together for a shared purpose.
The same is true for medical countermeasures (MCMs). The diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, and other medical countermeasures used during and following a public health emergency don’t appear overnight and don’t result from any individual effort.
The Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) was established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2006 and codified by Congress in 2019 as part of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPAIA). PAHPAIA formalized this interagency body and granted authorities that established a robust pipeline to review and propose investments for MCMs.
Continued: https://www.aspr.gov/news-updates/blog/2026-08/phemce-ensures-effective-medical-countermeasure