Clade X was a day-long pandemic tabletop exercise conducted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security on May 15, 2018, in Washington, DC. Many details of the exercise are available online, including videos, background documents, and fact sheets.In this report, we briefly describe the exercise development process and focus principally on the findings and recommendations that arose from this project.
The Clade X tabletop exercise simulated a fast-moving and potent epidemic that would command the attention of the US president and raise national policy dilemmas for the commander in chief to address. The exercise was structured around an ad hoc advisory group called the Executive Committee (EXCOMM), convened by the US National Security Advisor (NSA) to provide the president with recommendations for action to solve these policy dilemmas. EXCOMM roles consisted of National Security Council (NSC) principals and other trusted advisors, including leaders from the Department of Health and Human Services and Congress. The roles of EXCOMM members were played by 9 current and former high-ranking US government officials (see Table 1). Each individual had previously held or currently holds a high-level position in the federal government and brought detailed knowledge of the inner workings of the US government to the table.
