As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic enters a third calendar year, the Department of Health and Human Services is poised to make key decisions about future access to the pathogen. This moment in history may prove to be an important inflection point in the regulation of emergent pandemic pathogens and is an occasion for careful reconsideration of the decision-making process. While regulation plays an important role in securing against accidental or intentional release of biological threats, missteps resulting in overregulation could stymie scientific progress, leading to deficiencies in public health preparedness and security infrastructure in the long term.
Today’s list of the most dangerous biological agents, which is key to regulating their possession, use, and transfer, first took form in 1996 as a list of “select infectious agents” proposed by the Working Group on Civilian Biodefense. Throughout its history, the list has served as a mechanism for bolstering the biosecurity of the ...
