The Next Pandemic: Prepare for “Disease X”

The organism that will cause the next pandemic, which WHO labels “Disease X,” probably already exists. The COVID-19 pandemic will, slowly, and with some hiccups and many tragedies, pass into memory. This coronavirus may disappear and later recur, continue endemically under vaccine control, or simply attenuate and vanish. The economy and healthcare systems wil l return to a new normal, some parts more quickly than others. Like the multiple plagues humanity has endured since our ancestors gathered into cities, it will generate recriminations for slow and misguided responses, profiteering, and over- or under reacting to economic, social, and healthcare even ts that will, retrospectively, be obvious. The individuals and organizations most culpable for exacerbating the disaster will escape responsibility while they scapegoat others and try to re-write history. Heroes, whether individuals who helped provide clear risk communication and leadership or group s that persevered in the face...
Source: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Source Type: research