How can you prevent a pandemic?

If a nation were to find itself caught in an infectious disease epidemic, there are multiple individual measures and governmental measures that can be taken in order to prevent the transition of an epidemic to a pandemic. What you do during this stage is essential to preventing the full translation to a pandemic, for travel has connected our world in ways that were not possible before. Infections in one region of the globe can take another region of the globe by storm. Personal liberties must be subject to limitations when deemed necessary for the protection of greater public health.

In the case of an epidemic, public health surveillance measures must be put into place so that national and global health can be protected. In order to fully understand the threat capacity of an epidemic, it is critical for a nation to implement surveillance measures. It allows for the accumulation of data in order to properly inform the public, describe incidence and prevalence, and plan a targeted response. International Health Regulation (IHR) requires that health data is kept confidential and anonymous processed. However, during epidemics, it can be necessary to make certain health information public for the protection of the greater good. Disclosure can be called for, but the identity of the individual must be protected [1]. Only the minimum amount of information required to protect public health should be disclosed, protecting the rights of individuals [1].

The spread of misinformation is one of the most harmful things that can occur during an epidemic. Information regarding proper hygiene measures include hand-washing, use of PPE, disinfection techniques and respiratory hygiene [1]. Dissemination of accurate information vis all media networks is essential, for it equips individuals with a sense of agency over their own health and allows for them to make informed decisions to protect personal and public health. This specific aspect of epidemic containment measures is weak in the United States. There is a clear lack of uniformity among all news networks, with some networks promoting misinformation in order to advance their own political agendas at the expense of public health. According to an ethical review journal, “The information disseminated through public education campaigns should be accurate, clear, uncomplicated, not sensationalistic or alarmist, and as reassuring as possible” [1]. Public gathering restrictions, school and workplace closures, international travel and border controls and isolation and quarantine measures are to be done on a case by case basis, carefully deciding at what point of incidence such measures are to be put into place so that both personal liberty is protected and public health is secured. Cultural norms impact how such measures can be implemented and/or accepted by the public. Investigate the significance of culture in pandemic preparedness here.

REFERENCE

[1]Institute of Medicine (US) Forum on Microbial Threats. (1970, January 1). Strategies for Disease Containment. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK54163/

The above handbook details epidemic management in the context of federalism. The bottom handbook details previous pandemic responses by both South Korea and the United States. Read to find out where we went wrong during the transition from the Obama Admin and to the Trump Admin

BOTTOM LINE

According to our research, there are a multitude of factors that must be taken into account when preparing for epidemics in order to prevent a pandemic. Multiple measures must be put in place before and during epidemics to protect surrounding regions and countries from infectious disease outbreaks. It is abundantly clear that there is one facet of pandemic response that is most important—timeliness. Due to the rapid nature of infectious disease transmission, the timing of national and global response is critical in pandemic prevention, for it is better to be over prepared than to scramble for solutions after an epidemic has already begun to transition into a pandemic. South Korea learned from their botched response to MERS in 2015, and worked in a timely and proactive manner to better prepare for the next pandemic. The Bush administration anticipated such time constraints when requesting pandemic funding in preparation for the next major influenza epidemic in his 2005 speech to the NIH. President Bush was prompted to call for such massive amounts of funding for pandemic preparedness was the sheer realization that the possibility of a major influenza pandemic was incredibly high. Such urgency was also present in the Obama Administration, which worked continuously and diligently to address Zika, Ebola, and H1N1. Recognizing that the likelihood of another pandemic was high (similar to the concerns of the Bush Administration), the Obama Administration took an extra step during its response efforts, making a detailed Pandemic Playbook for the next administration to follow. It is in this playbook that proactive, rather than reactive, measures are emphasized when monitoring and responding to epidemics in other nations which have the potential of threatening the United States. The Trump Administration's blatant disregard of the Pandemic Playbook, hubris, and overconfidence weakened their ability to respond to a global health emergency with the well-being of the public in best interest. The current administration did not, and has yet to, act in response to Covid-19 in a timely manner. Instead of heeding the advice given by previous administrations across party lines, the Trump administration worked to weaken global health programs and pandemic-specific programs. Following Trump’s election, numerous articles were published referencing the lack of preparedness by this administration to respond to a pandemic, with articles being published years before this pandemic, as early as 2017. Instead of focusing on timeliness, the Trump administration dismantled programs enacted to sound early alarms for potential infectious disease threats—ignoring the urges for timeliness by previous administrations.

Timely dissemination of accurate information and timely prevention of misinformation spread is crucial for proper mitigation and containment efforts. Though freedom of the press in the United States may make it hard to control the manner in which information is disseminated to the public, the government, nonetheless, has a responsibility to monitor the publication and spread of information to the masses. This tactic is evidenced by the actions of the Obama Administration during the Ebola Epidemic. The Obama Administration's domestic Ebola response game plan included “Providing up-to-date information to the general public, international travelers, healthcare providers, state and local officials, and public health partners.” Similarly, South Korea acted to combat misinformation early with the following stated in The Korea Herald: “The National Police Agency embarked on a crackdown on circulation of coronavirus fake news as early as January, in coordination with the Korea Communications Commission and other relevant agencies” [1] Once misinformation becomes widespread in a population, it can be incredibly difficult to guide people in the right direction, as guided by scientific fact. Individuals may selectively choose what information to trust based on whether or not such information aligns with their personal and political biases. This is dangerous and only furthers our main point—timeliness matters.

[1] Arin, K. (2020, March 16). Virus fight inundated by misinformation. Retrieved from http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200316000920