What do we need to overcome the next pandemic?

The current COVID-19 pandemic harvested hundreds of thousands of lives and ruins economies. The authorities and societies are not prepared at all.  Some "smart" countries like Sweden, USA, UK, Brazil, Belorussia first decided not to react and consider the pandemic as a regular seasonal virus attack. This approach led to huge losses that will be scrutinized in the legal process later on. So, what did we miss when we have been not preparing for the pandemic? I have my own list and some simple remedies not to allow this situation again.

1.    When something unknown happens the reaction has to be the most conservative. Experiments on the whole population are prohibited before we understand how to mitigate the risks. Politicians have to make people’s lives the highest priority.  I would not vote for a politician who says that GDP is more important than lives, especially the lives of vulnerable people.

2.    The medical authority first. The reaction to the pandemic has to be similar to the reaction to war. Politicians may declare war but then strategy and tactics are controlled by militaries. However, medical strategy and tactics were not ready this time. The threat was underestimated and the reaction was inadequate on average. This is the bottleneck for developed countries that presented a full variety of stupid responses.

3.    State resources. To successfully fight against this and the next pandemic one needs resources for mid-term measures: medical army of doctors, nurses and other crucial personal – with extensive reserves, and medical facilities to treat sick people, medicine, teams, and tools to create vaccines,  etc.

4.    Comprehensive measures to protect people involved in essential jobs: police, firemen, post, food supply, water supply, army, delivery, etc. These people suffered the most after medical personal during this pandemic. These measures have to cover the whole cycle of their job and also cover the way to and from work to home. This is crucial since there is no way to make these jobs remote.

5.    A set of tools and measures of individual protection. This was the weakest point during the COVID-19 pandemic. People lost their jobs and the global economy returned to the earlier 2000s because people had not enough masks, gloves, protect costumes, measures, and places of decontamination. This is relatively cheap. At least it is cheaper than the GDP loss we suffer.

6. The social response was adequate and the overwhelming majority followed all protective measures. However, there are a not-negligible amount of people whose behavior endangered all others. I do not know legal ways to protect people from this psychopathic threat, but it seems to be one of the most dangerous channels of virus distribution.    

7.    Children. This is the problem that one cannot resolve. Children are likely the most effective and uncontrolled way of virus progress in society.

I am sure that people react to incentives and there is R&D activity around which is aimed at all challenges including those in my shortlist. The next pandemic has to be less painful if we are able to react in a rational way. However, the reaction of the Federal Reserve System and the stock market reveals a rather psychopathic reaction to save capital not lives.