Stopping the Next Pandemic
Even if the world does manage to end the COVID-19 pandemic, we can’t simply breathe a sigh of relief and return to business as usual. With the number of new infectious diseases rising fast, the next pandemic could be just around the corner.
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Transcript
Elmira Bayrasli: Welcome to Opinion Has It. I’m Elmira Bayrasli. We’ve made it through a year of pandemic lockdowns, restrictions, and shortages. And despite new virus variants and vaccine rollout challenges, the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be in sight.
Archive Recording: Israel is on track to lift all social-distancing restrictions in the coming months thanks to a world-leading rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
Archive Recording: The UK has expedited vaccination plans, aiming to vaccinate all adults with their first dose by the end of July.
Archive Recording, President Joe Biden: We’re now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May.
EB: But even if the world does manage to end the COVID-19 pandemic, we can’t just breathe a sigh of relief and return to business as usual. The number of new infectious diseases has risen dramatically in recent decades.
Archive Recording: We hear some people saying, well, this is a once-in-a-100-years event. It is absolutely not.