The Next Pandemic: Will We Be Ready or Caught Off Guard?

[Social Media]

 

Despite the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the world may still be unprepared for the next global health crisis, according to the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB). This top international body has warned that, even with the advances made during the COVID era, a future pandemic is likely to catch the world "napping." Their annual report points to several factors that are increasing the likelihood of a new pandemic. Urbanization, intensive farming practices, growing inequality, and even artificial intelligence are reshaping the global risk landscape, pushing the world closer to a potential crisis.

 

Current events seem to justify the GPMB's concern. The H5N1 bird flu continues to spread from infected livestock to humans in the United States, and a new variant of mpox is rapidly gaining ground in Central Africa. Meanwhile, a deadly Marburg virus outbreak, a relative of Ebola, has flared in Rwanda, killing more than a dozen people. The board's report stresses that "changing patterns of life and the ongoing encroachment of human activities into natural environments" are making the emergence of new pathogens more likely.

 

Despite the rapid advancements in science and technology during the COVID pandemic, the report highlights that the world is still unprepared to deal with the next health crisis. While humanity now has better medical interventions and is more organized through frameworks like the International Health Regulations, there is still a high chance that the next pandemic will strike without preparedness measures in place.

 

The GPMB's warning is echoed by Joy Phumaphi, a former health minister of Botswana and the co-chair of the board. She states that "the world is not ready for the next pandemic." This sentiment applies to all regions, from Africa and Europe to the Americas, Oceania, and Asia. Phumaphi stresses the need for governments to address the root causes of modern pandemics, including urbanization and inequality, which are identified as key risk drivers in the report.

 

One of the GPMB's central recommendations is the development of risk profiles and assessments that account for a wide range of factors, including conflicts and climate change, which exacerbate the threat of epidemics. The board also calls for governments to ensure that preparedness plans prioritize equity, particularly in making vaccines and treatments accessible to vulnerable populations. Collaboration across sectors is another crucial step the board recommends.

 

A striking element of the report is the GPMB's concern about declining trust in institutions and public health authorities, a risk driver that has deepened since the COVID-19 pandemic. As the report outlines, the rise of social media has exposed more people to misinformation, and public health organizations have struggled to keep up. Trust in governments and multilateral systems has eroded, which weakens the global capacity to address health emergencies. This distrust has been compounded by conspiracy theories, which gained traction during the pandemic and continue to undermine public health efforts.

 

Phumaphi believes that rebuilding trust is critical and can only be achieved through action. "The only way to rebuild that trust is to actually take care of these challenges," she says. "We have to take actions that actually demonstrate that we can work together as a global community in an equitable manner." Without significant improvements in global cooperation and preparedness, the next pandemic could find the world once again scrambling for solutions.

 

Based on a report from The Daily Telegraph 2024-10-16

 

 

 

[gargamon]

We're ready, but will still be caught off guard. Mainly due to the conspiracy theory idiots that have a hard time with true facts.

[newbee2022]

The next pandemic will come but "Angst" is not a good weapon to conquer that desaster.

I believe in vaccine and T-cells technology.

I don't like to wake up every morning, checking the news if a new wave of deadly viruses is rolling.

 

[Cryingdick]

At least in the usa we have very competent leadership, that is on calll day and night. Whether it is a hurricane we already knew was coming, an invasion of illegals, wildfires in the dry season we have it covered. With  such a well oiled machine, firing on all cylinders there is nothing to worry about.

[RichardColeman]

I think the next pandemic is here and has been with us for decades.

 

280,000-325,000 people in the US die of obesity every year.

Over 40% of americans are obese.

 

Who needs another pandemic when they are already killing themselves by eating themselves into goodyear balloons ?

 

[daveAustin]

Can be sure certain powers that be will use it to their advantage for further control. Not a conspiracy theorist, covid was a thing as were the moon landings, but one thing's for sure, I won't be taking any hastily developed garbage vaccines.

[impulse]

34 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

I think the next pandemic is here and has been with us for decades.

 

280,000-325,000 people in the US die of obesity every year.

Over 40% of americans are obese.

 

Who needs another pandemic when they are already killing themselves by eating themselves into goodyear balloons ?

 

One of the presidential candidates is promising to look into that epidemic.   And it ain't Harris.

 

[Freddy42OZ]

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

I think the next pandemic is here and has been with us for decades.

 

280,000-325,000 people in the US die of obesity every year.

Over 40% of americans are obese.

 

Who needs another pandemic when they are already killing themselves by eating themselves into goodyear balloons ?

 

 

It's just a pity that being obese takes so long to kill.

[soalbundy]

Nature's cull is coming, she's trying to reach equilibrium in the human species as she has achieved with all other species, cross the line for the ideal number and you get decimated back to sustainability.....but we keep thwarting her with vaccines so maybe mental illness, war and low fertility combined with starvation due to our destruction of the environment will do the job just as well.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, daveAustin said:

Can be sure certain powers that be will use it to their advantage for further control. Not a conspiracy theorist, covid was a thing as were the moon landings, but one thing's for sure, I won't be taking any hastily developed garbage vaccines.

On that I agree 100%.

Of course we won't be prepared as when were we ever prepared for anything important? Every year is a repeat of the same disasters as the year before.

 

Besides, if they were prepared, it would avoid the "need" for vile lockdowns and destruction of economies, and not as much profit in rushing out newtech vaccines that don't work.

[thaibeachlovers]

6 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Nature's cull is coming, she's trying to reach equilibrium in the human species as she has achieved with all other species, cross the line for the ideal number and you get decimated back to sustainability.....but we keep thwarting her with vaccines so maybe mental illness, war and low fertility combined with starvation due to our destruction of the environment will do the job just as well.

+1

[john donson]

If you knew years before covid, about big pharma's big payouts for fraud and deception agency , you knew that the animal died during the sars vaccine trials, you knew that whatever came was only to profit, big pharma

 

conspiracy theories, lol... where big pharma had patented the strain years before the pandemic, right...

 

seems now that IVM can block the spike protein but if that was worldly known, no emergency vaccine would have been profitable or accepted

[RocketDog]

Of course we will be caught off guard; that's the human condition. Humans are never prepared for disaster. It's called normalcy bias.

[impulse]

5 hours ago, soalbundy said:

Nature's cull is coming, she's trying to reach equilibrium in the human species as she has achieved with all other species, cross the line for the ideal number and you get decimated back to sustainability.....but we keep thwarting her with vaccines so maybe mental illness, war and low fertility combined with starvation due to our destruction of the environment will do the job just as well.

 

If you put together a few zillionaires that believe the same, it's not hard to imagine they'd get together to come up with a plan to help Mother Nature along.

 

[xtrnuno41]

GUess not.

Putin is doing a war with Ukraine.

Hamas killed some Israëliets

Israel killed some Palestines

Iran is attacking Israel

Israel is attacking Libanon

Libanon is attacking Israel

Yemen is still at war intern

Kim yung un is waiting when or what time to act.

China is thinking when to attack Taiwan.

Some people are suppressing people in Afghanistan.

And so the list is way longer, must be some kind of virus .

[candide]

It could well come from Thailand.  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7831773/

[Patong2021]

17 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Can be sure certain powers that be will use it to their advantage for further control. Not a conspiracy theorist, covid was a thing as were the moon landings, but one thing's for sure, I won't be taking any hastily developed garbage vaccines.

 Ok. The results of the Covid mRNA vaccines demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that they have been effective and safe. 

[Cryingdick]

20 hours ago, soalbundy said:

Nature's cull is coming, she's trying to reach equilibrium in the human species as she has achieved with all other species, cross the line for the ideal number and you get decimated back to sustainability.....but we keep thwarting her with vaccines so maybe mental illness, war and low fertility combined with starvation due to our destruction of the environment will do the job just as well.

It was a gift we squandered. All we had to do is put a bunch of people that are pretty much dead already out on the pack ice. Instead we spent huge amounts of money to keep people alive who had six months to live.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

It was a gift we squandered. All we had to do is put a bunch of people that are pretty much dead already out on the pack ice. Instead we spent huge amounts of money to keep people alive who had six months to live.

Not just spent vast amounts of money- destroyed economies, businesses, people's lives, as well.

[Chomper Higgot]

2 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

It was a gift we squandered. All we had to do is put a bunch of people that are pretty much dead already out on the pack ice. Instead we spent huge amounts of money to keep people alive who had six months to live.

I don’t recall you volunteering yourself or anyone of your own family to take one for the team.