The COVID-19 pandemic presents a challenge to public health, causing a loss of human life while exposing flaws in existing health policies [1]. In October 2019, prior to the pandemic, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security published a first-of-its kind study that estimated the pandemic preparedness of all 195 countries using indicators grouped into six main categories: prevention, early detection and reporting, rapid response, health system, compliance with international norms, and risk to biological threats [2]. The U.S. earned an overall Global Health Security index score of 83.5 out of a maximum 100, ranking No. 1 in five of six categories and No. 1 overall [2]. However, now more than one year since the World Health Organization’s declaration of the pandemic on March 11, 2020, the U.S. sits within the top five countries with the highest death toll per 100,000 population [3]. A report by Columbia University’s National Center for Disease Preparedness compared U.S. policy and death toll to that of six other high-income countries and estimated that the lack of a cohesive public health response to combat the virus led to as many as 210,000 avoidable deaths in the U.S. within the first six months of the pandemic [4]. Response and mitigation strategies to the pandemic differed by state, and even by county, leaving much room for improvement and for more integrated policies. Such considerations are still important in the effort to achieve herd immunity with vaccine distribution, and to continually limit transmission of the virus with other effective prevention and detection methods.