Act deserves support

Recently, talk and worry over the Delta variant has come to the forefront of the national conversation. A more contagious, more severe variant is becoming dominant internationally, all while the United States has been opening up and relaxing COVID-19 measures. Defeating COVID-19 will mean partnering with other countries to address the spread of the virus because the more people become infected, the more opportunities there are for the virus to mutate and become a more harmful variant.

The House of Representatives recently passed the Global Health and Security Act. This act would instruct the president to take measures to implement the Global Health Security Agenda, which is an initiative launched by 30 nations to address potential infectious diseases. This pandemic has shown how vulnerable we are to health threats, how we have been underprepared, and the global nature of health security.

The Borgen Project, an organization that works to end global poverty, believes the act is an important step in helping less developed nations weather the pandemic while preventing the spread of COVID-19 variants and the rise of other infectious diseases.

I applaud all the representatives from the Chicagoland area who voted for the bill, notably Congressman Schneider of Illinois' 10th District, Congressman Casten of the 6th District, and Congressman Rush of the 1st District who all also co-sponsored the bill.

As the bill moves to the Senate, I'm contacting my senators to support this act as a Borgen Project ambassador, and I urge you to do the same.

Joyce Bai

Buffalo Grove