Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response ASPR

After the 2001 anthrax letters and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 exposed gaps in the medical response to emergencies, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, signed on December 19, 2006, created the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. In July 2022 it was elevated to an operating division and renamed the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. It is still led by the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.

ASPR coordinates the health and medical side of federal disaster response, deploying National Disaster Medical System teams to hurricanes and other emergencies. It manages the Strategic National Stockpile of vaccines, antidotes, ventilators, and protective equipment, which moved from the CDC in 2018. Its Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, known as BARDA, funds the development and purchase of vaccines, drugs, and tests for pandemics and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, including through Project BioShield.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the stockpile ran short of masks and ventilators, while BARDA helped finance vaccines and treatments developed under Operation Warp Speed. In August 2025 HHS canceled about $500 million in BARDA-funded mRNA vaccine projects, and the department's reorganization proposed moving ASPR under the CDC. Supporters said the changes reflected doubts about mRNA platforms and a desire for consolidation, while many public health experts warned they would leave the country less ready for the next pandemic.