Three years since the first COVID case was confirmed, preparations to stave off the next pandemic have started to ramp up, but far more needs to be done to avoid repeating past mistakes. Last week the 194 member States of the World Health Organization agreed to start negotiations in February over a draft of a pandemic treaty aiming to better respond to future threats.

WHO is updating a list of priority pathogens – the agents that can cause outbreaks or pandemics – in which corona virus and influenza virus remain identified as the viruses with the most potential for outbreaks.

The governing board of the Pandemic Fund, which is hosted by the World Bank and was launched last month by G20 nations, said it is preparing for its first round of funding with a total of 1.6 billion USD pledged so far.

Another effort is being led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which has a five-year, 3.5 billion USD plan that includes a “100 Days Mission”.

CEPI aims to develop a new vaccine against a potential “disease X” within 100 days of the WHO identifying a pandemic threat.

The plan includes connecting different institutes focusing on pandemic preparedness such as the US’s BARDA, European Union’s HERA, and Japan’s SCARDA.

Source: VOV5