There are dozens of proposals for what we need to do to prevent future deadly pandemics, but they still fall far short of what is needed. With few exceptions, they privilege technical solutions and changes in individual behavior over political and social ones. The hope that they would eliminate the threat of another pandemic, even if fully implemented, is unrealistic. And there is a puzzling lack of urgency to the widely circulated proposals to prevent another disaster such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
We cannot protect ourselves from the threat of future disasters without confronting the economic, social, political, and cultural practices and institutions that have led to the recent increase in disease outbreaks and that have undermined effective response to infectious disease.