Hindsight is 20/20. Obviously not the best idea. Even back then. But lynching them now for it.. You must really scold them for not understanding probability.
Which eh... with that administration..?
So here is the deeper issue. You could obviously reform your pandemic team, once the news broke. So thats not the problem.
The problem is, that you loose institutional expertise (and f.e. response plans), if you do so (dismantle them) for a long time. So the issue is forgotten institutional knowledge, if you get rid of institutions.
You can still have that knowledge be present at the university level, but to then integrate it into government again - comes with its challenges (takes time).
In the mean time, during non-pandemic periods (
), you have them sit by idly - and pay them to research some strand, or think about distribution curves and patterns, which you could, very easily mistake for empty spending.
If you wanted a "simple and lean government". Which to be fair, Trump campaigned on.
Deswamping the swamp was his way of saying, fire all those useless bureaucrats, that only cost money, remember.
No, please - remember that. For future reference.
Because this time, the impact of him firing the response team was probably still not that huge. The plans were still in some drawers (and be it at the UN). But that would have changed over time (regional response efforts from 'the fifties?' at some point).
