#pandemic-preparedness

#pandemic-preparedness

A team of researchers from the Broad Institute and Harvard began to suspect nearly two decades ago that so-called "emerging diseases" such as Ebola and Lassa virus were not quite what they seemed. Rather than being newly evolved contagions, mounting evidence suggested they were ancient pathogens that had circulated among humans for thousands of years. What really was emerging was accurate diagnosis: Medicine only recently had acquired the ability to detect these diseases and track the toll of outbreaks.

The standard pandemic-preparedness playbook "has failed catastrophically," NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and NIH Principal Deputy Director Matthew J. Memoli wrote in City Journal, a magazine and website published by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a conservative think tank. The pair argue that finding and studying pathogens that could cause outbreaks, then stockpiling vaccines against them, is a waste of money.

Most people don't like getting vaccines, much less seeing their children have needles poked into their thighs and arms. But context can change that. Besieged by terrifying outbreaks of paralytic polio and the spectre of iron-lung respirators, many parents were happy to see their children receiving the first polio vaccinations in the 1950s. Similarly, when I got my first COVID-19 vaccine, it instantly relieved the sense of existential dread that I had felt for almost a year as the death toll rose.

The contract cancellation came as a surprise to Tiba, which received a stop-work order on August 5 that did not reference the wind-down of BARDA's mRNA vaccine development activities.

Dr. Murti has played a pivotal role in pandemic preparedness, emergency response and health system transformation, which is vital for her new role as Toronto's medical officer of health.

These discoveries may not just save our own lives, but the lives of people we love. Nearly every innovation that defines our era, every breakthrough from my field and from those of my colleagues, traces back to basic science research.

The research team combined biophysics with artificial intelligence to identify high-risk viral variants quickly, fundamentally altering how we predict and respond to pandemics.

Determining credible sources in future pandemics will be crucial as misinformation can impact both personal well-being and survival.

Scientists have pursued a universal influenza vaccine for decades to protect against various strains, with recent plans for $500 million in funding marking significant progress.