America’s Ebola Preparedness, With Thomas Bollyky

This episode unpacks how a major Ebola outbreak in Central Africa exposed critical gaps in global health surveillance and assesses U.S. preparedness for future biological threats.

Host:

James M. Lindsay (cfr.org/experts/james-m-lindsay), Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR

Guest:

Thomas J. Bollyky (cfr.org/experts/thomas-j-bollyky), Bloomberg Chair in Global Health; Senior Fellow for International Economics, Law, and Development; and Director of the Global Health Program

We Discuss:

• The current state of the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda, and why the case count was already high by the time authorities reported it.

• Why governments are often slow to report cases during outbreaks, and what delayed reporting may have cost in this instance.

• Why the WHO has discouraged trade and travel restrictions.

• How the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO is shaping a more limited response.

• Whether China is stepping in to fill the global health leadership gap left by U.S. institutional withdrawal.

• What the politicization of mRNA vaccine technology means for the U.S. ability to respond to future outbreaks that require rapid vaccine deployment.

• How artificial intelligence creates opportunities to accelerate global health responses, but also introduces new risks like engineered pathogens.

Mentioned on the Episode:

CDC Health Alert: Ebola Disease Outbreak in the DRC and Uganda (cdc.gov/han/php/notices/han00530.html), May 19, 2026

WHO Disease Outbreak News: Ebola caused by Bundibugyo Virus, DRC and Uganda (who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item…), May 21, 2026

WHO Declaration of Public Health Emergency of International Concern (who.int/news/item/17-05-2026-epidemic-of-ebola…), May 17, 2026

Bollyky et al., "Assessing COVID-19 pandemic policies and behaviours and their economic and educational trade-offs across US states from Jan 1, 2020, to July 31, 2022: an observational analysis (thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140…)00461-0/fulltext)," The Lancet

CDC Mobilizes International Response Following Ebola Disease Outbreak (cdc.gov/media/releases/2026/cdc-mobilizes-inte…), May 18, 2026

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: cfr.org/podcasts/presidents-inbox/americas-ebo…

Opinions expressed on The President’s Inbox are solely those of the host or guests, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.