Which specific body within HHS is responsible for the federal medical response?

• A. Administration for Strategic Preparedness & Response (ASPR)
• B. Office of the Surgeon General
• C. National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• D. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Answer: (A)

Understanding who conducts the federal medical response inside HHS is about identifying the entity that coordinates medical care, surge capacity, and the distribution of medical countermeasures during emergencies. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness & Response is the part of HHS charged with that mission. It directs federal medical response activities, oversees the Strategic National Stockpile of vaccines, antidotes, and medications, and links with other agencies to mobilize clinicians, supplies, and emergency responders. The Office of the Surgeon General mainly serves as the nation’s chief medical advisor and handles public-health messaging, not the operational medical response. The NIH focuses on biomedical research rather than rapid disaster response, and the CDC handles surveillance and outbreak control but does not lead the federal medical response. So, the best answer shows ASPR as the lead for organizing and delivering medical care and countermeasures across the federal response.