COVID-19 is no longer a priority for most governments, but the global mismanagement of this pandemic has meant that many people are still directly affected, long after effective vaccines and treatments have been approved.

In a Comment published in Nature Medicine, Research Fellow Mitsuru Mukaigawara and his coauthors point to the need for global, national, and local preparedness plans that include equitable access to diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics, as well as strategies to build trust and combat disinformation.

Given the ongoing “shocks to the global system—including overuse of resources, declining biodiversity, extreme climate events, poverty, conflicts, and migration—it is only a matter of time,” Mukaigawara writes, “before the next pandemic outbreak occurs.”

“Lessons from COVID-19 Must Be Learned before the Next Outbreak,” Nature Medicine
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02377-6

Profile of Research Fellow Mitsuru Mukaigawara
https://www.tokyofoundation.org/experts/detail.php?id=739