The early response to the outbreak of Covid by the Trump administration was marked by “lousy” intelligence on the virus, a slow reaction to its spread, and a muddled attempt to acquire protective equipment, according to a sweeping final report from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

The report includes new details about problems the Trump administration faced bolstering the nation’s supply of personal protective equipment during shortages in 2020. It also includes new interviews with health officials, who complained US intelligence services knew little about the virus in early 2020, stymieing response efforts.

The findings underscore the need to improve the nation’s pandemic preparedness programs, subcommittee leaders said. It recommends, among other changes, passing a Senate bill (S. 3799) meant to bolster programs that monitor emerging diseases and reform public health agencies.

“My information from our intelligence sources in HHS were, quite frankly, lousy,” Robert Kadlec, who served as the assistant secretary for preparedness and response in the Department of Health and Human Services under former President Donald Trump, told the subcommittee a newly released interview.

Kadlec told them even classified sources on the coronavirus didn’t have more information than public health officials.

Leaders of the Centers for Disease...

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