Six Crises: Tommy Thompson on Pressing China to Fight SARS (2003)

In 2003, another viral respiratory illness known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) broke out in China and spread across the world. Tommy Thompson, the former four-term Republican governor of Wisconsin, was secretary of Health and Human Services in the administration of former president George W. Bush. Thompson walked point for the United States with top officials in Beijing, not just to control the outbreak but to establish a suite of biomedical training and joint surveillance activities for combating infectious diseases. Thompson draws lessons from his 2003 coordination with Beijing over SARS for today's coronavirus pandemic.