Joint Committee on COVID-19 & Emergency Preparedness & Management Release Committee Report
BOSTON – June 28, 2022 – On, June 27, 2022, the Chairs of the Joint Committee on COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management released a comprehensive report that reviewed the Commonwealth’s response to the pandemic and offered recommendations to improve the state’s emergency response system. The report follows nine hearings and six listening sessions that occurred in 2021 and 2022.
Among the report’s 16 recommendations were calls to:
Restructure and update the Commonwealth’s incident management structure to better align with well-established standardized incident organizational structures
Create a mechanism to report at-home and rapid testing results to local boards of public health and the Department of Public Health
Fund contact tracing efforts by investing in local public health, with supplemental funding during disease outbreaks
Designate a “Special Assistant to the Governor for COVID-19 Vaccine Administration” for all efforts related to vaccinations
This report is a compilation of the Joint Committee’s work since its inception based off the testimony received during the HMCC Listening Tour and other relevant hearings. It is the Joint Committee’s hope that these recommendations are implemented by the Commonwealth, in order to better support state agencies and departments, as well as local communities in the event of another similar public health emergency.
“I am grateful to all who shared their experiences and expertise before the Committee,” says House Chair Bill Driscoll Jr. “This report focuses on recommendations for the near-term that are important as the Commonwealth navigates the ongoing pandemic and builds readiness to contend with future emergencies.”
Senate Chair Comerford stated, “When COVID hit, we were less resilient and less prepared than we ought to have been. This report will help our Commonwealth respond and recover equitably from this pandemic as well as be better prepared for the next contagion or the next disaster. I am grateful to our state colleagues who are responding to this pandemic and who serve on this Committee, and look forward to working with them to implement the recommendations contained in this report.”
You can read the full report, here.
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