The U.S. is still leading in confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. Today it is too early to talk about normalization of the situation. The pandemic has not bypassed any sector of the country 's economy, including the science and technology sector. The paper reveals the major challenges faced by organizations involved in R&D policy in the United States in the new coronavirus epidemic.

In particular, the introduction of the social distancing regime by most states has already led to the closure of many laboratories and scientific research. Scientific organizations have to make difficult choices about which projects are essential or critical enough to continue in the current environment, including in some cases COVID-19-related projects. Even if the scientific project continues, the efficiency and quality of the work carried out can be reduced, relations with suppliers and service providers are disrupted, and some of the resources originally planned for current projects are switched to the fight against the pandemic. Unforeseen expenses arise in connection with the closure or restart of projects, the cancellation of numerous scientific and technical events, conferences, etc.

The article revealed that to date a rather diverse range of anti-pandemic measures have been developed in the United States. Among them are grant funding programs for research related to COVID-19, cooperation in the form of public-private partnership, anti-crisis financial support measures adopted by Congress, etc. The academic research community mobilizes its intellectual resources in the fight against the new coronavirus. The relative autonomy of federal agencies and other organizations of the U.S. science and technology complex in adapting the restrictive measures associated with the pandemic allows for a more flexible response to a rapidly changing situation. Under the D. Trump’s administration, federal spending on science hit a historic high largely due to the efforts of Congress. This may provide a good basis for the rapid redeployment of resources.

It is too early to assess the effectiveness of the measures taken. They are likely to expand over time, taking into account the identified obstacles to rapid inclusion in the fight against the pandemic, creating a margin of safety for the future.