Host Christine Warnke asked herself this and then read Rethinking Readiness: A Brief Guide to Twenty-First-Century Megadisasters by Jeff Schlegelmilch. Then she decided to invite Jeff who is the Director for the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University’s Earth Institute to talk about his book and the readiness of the United States with Covid-19, since his areas of expertise includes public health preparedness, community resilience and the integration of private and public sector capabilities. Listen to him explains how the United States has been developing Disaster Policy and Disaster Practice for decades with Bioterrorism like Anthrax. Which aided the development for Covid-19 Vaccination Programs from the blueprint of the research on how to distribute to the public. The United States has been thinking about disasters for awhile and we've come to understand that human development is the contributing to the over arching threat and the underlying vulnerabilities. Human activity can also be used to reverse the and mitigate the activity. Everything from our healthcare to our infrastructure, our national security systems. Jeff gives a guide and explains the 5 categories from his book that frame out what we face, bio-threats that include Pandemics, Climate Change, Major Infrastructure Collapse, Cyberattacks, and Nuclear Conflict. If 911 was the start of modern era disaster management, Hurricane Katrina, broaden the focus to understand the impact of natural disasters and infrastructure damage. Intersecting with governments, partnering with communities, figuring out who's making the decisions. Katrina changed the landscape of emergency management. In the Gulf many people also experienced oil spills in the area and experienced multiple natural disasters. Which they continue to struggle with since many lost everything they had and even had to relocate to another state never to return. Jeff Schlegelmilch knows that the Federal Government needs to get the resources to the State and Local Health Departments that have been preparing for this for decades, but still need all the help they can get, exhausting medical resources already. Montgomery County is at 79.2% in patient beds occupied currently.  ----------- Connect with MMCTV online: https://www.mmctv.org/ Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeUuQ-ztb-QetB7TmIscDvg Follow us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MMCTVCHANNEL16/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mmctv16 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/montgomerymunicipalcable16/ Montgomery Municipal Cable (MMCTV) is a government access station in Montgomery County, MD. MMC was designed to increase community awareness among the citizens of the county by broadcasting municipal events, educational programs and interviews with elected officials and other noteworthy individuals. You can find MMC on Channel 16 on Comcast, Verizon and RCN every evening as well as 24/7 access to our online video archives. Channel 16 is a member of the PEG Network (Public Education and Government) of Montgomery County. We are able to provide programming due to the continued support from the municipalities within the county. We are located in the Kensington Town Hall/Armory. We have a state of the art, all virtual studio which allows us to change the background for each of our programs. All of our programs are produced and hosted by municipal and county residents who volunteer their time as a way of communicating a topic they are passionate about for the residents of Montgomery County. MMC’s programming includes shows that provide the public with information pertaining to health and wellness, politics, business, the arts and life planning including services, organizations and local events. We also have programs for the Hispanic community. Whether you’re looking to hear from your elected officials about what’s going on in our community or if you are looking for volunteer opportunities close to home, MMC has something of interest for everyone in the county.