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A historic effort is underway to develop a global “Pandemic Treaty”.
On December 1, 2021, a historic global effort to develop a “Pandemic Treaty” was unveiled. The draft of the treaty will be written and negotiated under the Constitution of the World Health Organization and under the World Health Assembly. Its goal is “to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response” as well as “protecting the world from future infectious diseases crises”.
Disaster management will be crucial in future pandemics. Picture by Shutterstock
This Wall Street Journal article was written by Tom Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2009 to 2017. While COVID-19 preoccupies us at the moment, it is crucial to begin thinking about the next inevitable pandemics. Dr. Frieden explains that in the years after COVID-19, it is likely that another infectious disease, possibly a similar pneumonia-like illness, suddenly emerges. Will we be ready?
COVID-19 reinfections are now documented in several countries. Picture by Shutterstock/ Lightspring
The first documented Coronavirus reinfection was reported in Hong Kong on August 24th, 2020. Experts say this finding was not unexpected, “especially given the millions of people who have been infected worldwide”. While there have been many presumed cases of reinfection, this case was the first to be confirmed.
How can you learn more about global public health? Picture by Shutterstock/ Imageflow
Since the COVID-19 epidemic has raised awareness for global public health in general and pandemic outbreaks in particular, many, especially young people of my generation, might want to learn more about this field. I wanted to share and review one of the first online courses in public health I completed, which provided a perfect introduction to the topic for me.
Scientists in a high security lab. Picture by Shutterstock
While social distancing is the best way to slow the spread of Coronavirus and flatten the curve of infections to make sure that hospitals are not overwhelmed, to return to full normalcy, we need to discover, test, and administer a vaccine in large quantities. The good news is that there are currently 35 companies racing to create a vaccine and at least 52 vaccine programs underway.
Ebola virus. Picture by Shutterstock/ jaddigt
The World Health Organization has recently declared the nearly year-long Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a Public-Health Emergency of International Concern. The declaration was made after recent developments in the outbreak made it one of international concern. Continue Reading
A free chart from www.gapminder.org
Gapminder is a Swedish foundation created by Hans Rosling, his son Ola Rosling, and Anna Roslin Rönnlund. It was founded on February 25th, 2005 in Stockholm, Sweden and often collaborates with universities, the United Nations, and both public and non-governmental organizations. Gapminder strives to educate the world’s population on the ignorance of global facts, reduce misconceptions of people’s worldview, and promote global data and research that is easy to understand. Continue Reading