Global Experts: Prepare For The Next Pandemic

While the world is still in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic that has caused unprecedented transformations across the globe, the group of international experts seeks to find the next global disease - and how to prepare for the new pandemic.

According to experts in biological defense and epidemiology who spoke at the event held by the "Fast Company Information" yesterday, Wednesday, the tools necessary to prepare for the next pandemic, include increased investment by governments, partnerships between the public and private sectors, and coordination of work with charities.

They also called for the launch of an early warning system to prevent epidemics before they begin to spread. And the creation and maintenance of the necessary infrastructure to cope with any upcoming pandemic.

In the context, Andrew Weber, a senior fellow in the US Strategic Risk Board and former assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, said: “It is clear that the Corona pandemic has become a national security threat that will dominate in the twenty-first century.”

"For about $ 15 to $ 20 million annually over the next five to ten years, we can eliminate threats from biological weapons as well as infectious diseases, but they should be part of our national security efforts and a priority," Weber added.

Megan Murray, a professor of global health at Harvard Medical School, who is researching the use of the BCG tuberculosis vaccine to reduce the severity of COVID-19, explained that the pharmaceutical industry needs to be stimulated to participate in the upcoming preparations.

Murray emphasized that healthcare companies need to bear the risks when producing vaccines, so the answer may lie in working with government and academia as well.

She noted the importance of having logistical services - from cold storing vaccines to making dose packages in manageable volumes - and working with other countries.

"In the case of zoonotic diseases, which are transmitted from animals to humans, such as COVID-19, there is an additional problem, because this often occurs in places where people and the wild are close," Murray added.

 

Source: Alqabas

 

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