Designing a Science-Based Strategy for the Next Pandemic

Abstract

Since its 2020 debut, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of millions. Through the efforts of many researchers, scientists, and medical professionals strategies were developed to control the spread of the virus. Strategies developed included mask mandates, creating reliable testing, social distancing, and vaccination mandates. These strategies all proved to be successful in controlling the spread of the virus, but unfortunately, due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, they took time to be developed and were not as effective as they could have been. This resulted in dozens of problems across the world’s economy and politics. To avoid this, in the event of a future pandemic, we should be prepared to quickly develop effective strategies to quickly control the spread of the virus and mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Pandemic prevention strategies include the following: universal contact tracing, quickly creating reliable diagnostic tests and vaccines, constant monitoring of zoonotic pathogens, sufficient funding, and following the pandemic plan already set in place.