Pandemics-We're NOT Ready!

[Readymom]

:HatTip: Hat Tip to John West, over at his Daily Big Threats blog:



Experts detail global pandemic readiness gaps, offer steps
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2019/09/experts-detail-global-pandemic-readiness-gaps-offer-steps

(SNIP) ... In its first annual report, an independent board established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank to keep its finger on the pulse of the world's outbreak and emergency readiness said the world isn't prepared to respond to a pandemic and that proactive efforts are needed to detect and control potential outbreaks. ---CONTiNUED at LINK, above---

[Readymom]

The World Knows an Apocalyptic Pandemic Is Coming
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/09/20/the-world-knows-an-apocalyptic-pandemic-is-coming/

(SNIP) ... A new independent report compiled at the request of the United Nations secretary-general warns that there is a “very real threat” of a pandemic sweeping the planet, killing up to 80 million people. A deadly pathogen, spread airborne around the world, the report says, could wipe out almost 5 percent of the global economy. And we’re not ready.

The ominous analysis was compiled by an independent panel, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), which was assembled last year in response to a request from the office of the U.N. secretary-general, and convened jointly by the World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO). ---CONTINUED at LINK, above---

[Readymom]

TIME

Why We Are So Ill-Prepared for A Possible Pandemic Like Coronavirus
https://time.com/5777923/america-prepared-pandemic-coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR09uMiIOCuKASPoo4EyLhqKVJtmWbjNq_9SSLvRheV5g5DaQgq7ccd0Y7g

(SNIP) ... The problem is that we don’t prepare to defend against infectious diseases the way we do other threats to national security. Would we consider going to war and then ordering aircraft carriers or other weapon systems for the fight? Yet that is how we often deal with vaccines and drug treatments for diseases of epidemic potential. We are woefully underprepared because of a lack of investment and public will. If we are serious about protecting ourselves, governments of the world must make long-term, proactive investments in pharmaceutical agents, medical equipment, supplies and basic research. ---CONTINUED---

[Readymom]

GIZMODO

We're Not Ready for the Next Pandemic
https://gizmodo.com/were-not-ready-for-the-next-pandemic-1839169413

If the seeds of a pandemic illness were planted tomorrow, how would the world fare? Well, according to a simulation carried out on Friday by Johns Hopkins University, the answer is: terribly.

At a hotel near New York City’s Central Park, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security hosted a pandemic exercise dubbed Event 201. It enlisted 15 public health experts and leaders from governments and industries to try to figure out the best course of action if a horrific pandemic were to tear its way across the globe. The simulation came stocked with expert briefings and news updates from the fictional GNN, complete with talking head segments. ---CONTINUED---