Future Pandemics: Five Ways to Prepare for the New Normal

These days, everybody is focused on preparing for the new normal. The race for a cure is on, but it will take approximately 1 to 2 years (or perhaps even more) to get to the point where the vaccine can be put through the appropriate trials and approved for widespread treatment. It has barely been three months, and already, everyone is tired of living indoors imprisoned by CoVid-19 – it almost seems like a lifetime has passed and surely the overwhelming majority of the population are yearning for the day society can be safely reopened to the public. The healthcare industry plays a major role in the fight against the coronavirus, and the current “box in” strategy of testing, isolating, contract tracing, and quarantining is a good attempt to take control of the spread of the virus. Unfortunately, we are gonna need more than that. Here are five ways the healthcare industry can help prepare for future pandemics.

  1. Recommending Reliable Information – One major problem during this pandemic is the amount of fake news that is circulating all over the Internet, thereby misleading people and creating confusion during a high-stress situation. The healthcare industry should recommend reliable sources of information, such as the Center For Disease Control & Prevention, and do their part in making sure people know where to go if they want to know the latest updates.
  2. Forming Policies Specifically For Pandemics – Lack of preparation is never a good look, especially when it ends up in a disorganized response to a worldwide pandemic. Hospitals, private practices, and nursing homes need to put what they learned during this global disaster into optimal and efficient strategies intended to mitigate or halt the spread of dangerous diseases during an outbreak. This includes ensuring that medical workers are healthy, and ensuring they are isolated, tested, and treated immediately once infected.
  3. Establishing Reliable Global Warning Systems – Time is very important when dealing with the rapid spread of a virus. It would be helpful for there to be a system in place that identifies threats and sets off a course of action that may help contain the spread and prevent an outbreak from turning into a full blown pandemic.
  4. Strengthening Public Health Systems – A global warning system is good – but if there are no public health systems that are ready to act upon receiving these warnings, then it would be useless. The key to a good public health system is quick action, a clear command structure, science-driven responses, and a strong financial commitment to mounting a coordinated response. Furthermore, all information should be made freely accessible to the public, so that everyone is educated and aware of what is going on.
  5. Protecting Natural Habitats From Excessive Human Interference – Encouraging the protection of natural habitats can go a long way in decreasing the possibility of future pandemics, but it may take some time before this endeavor is realized. The more pressing issue is putting pressure on authorities to sniff out and deal with the illegal wildlife trade in many different areas of the world in an effort to decrease the chances of diseases being transmitted from animal to human.

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