The next pandemic

POLITICO's Westminster Insider

Westminster — like much of the world — was caught napping by the deadly new coronavirus which emerged from China in 2019. This week Jack Blanchard speaks to experts from around the world to consider what we can do now to better prepare for the next pandemic, and avoid a similar catastrophe next time round.

Professor Julia Gog of Cambridge University explains how different types of virus spread in different ways, and the sorts of intervention we might need in response. Former U.K. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt warns of the dangers of Whitehall groupthink, while Dr Jason Wang of Stanford University sets out the lessons we can learn from east Asian countries like Taiwan and South Korea. Richard Hatchett of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) explains how vaccine deployment and distribution can be sped up, while Professor Kevin Esvelt of MIT and Nicole Stephenson of Metabiota stress the best approach of all is to tackle emerging threats at source.