Unfortunately, COVID-19 is probably just practice for other pandemics in the future, which might be far worse. We are creating this risk ourselves – destroying nature, warming the climate, allowing poverty to persist, eating meat, and even inventing dangerous new viruses in labs. And we still don’t have adequate global public health systems to protect us from these risks we’re creating. But luckily, there are many solutions we can use – and we can afford it.
Resources:
Demographics:
~ World population - https://bit.ly/2QGcUYB
~ Urbanization - https://bit.ly/3xDIqqC
Destruction of nature:
~ Grist, 4/27/20 Deadly Leaps: These scientists saw the coronavirus coming. Now they're trying to stop the next pandemic before it starts. https://bit.ly/3ecYmIJ
~ The Guardian, 8/30/20 Rampant destruction of forests ‘will unleash more pandemics’ https://bit.ly/3tdUjA0
~ The Guardian, 7/28/20 We are entering an era of pandemics – it will end only when we protect the rainforest https://bit.ly/33fwgpL
~ Ensia, 12/8/20
There Are Worse Viruses Than COVID-19 Out There. How Do We Avoid the Next Big One? https://bit.ly/3eRFnlU
~ Ensia, 3/17/20 Destruction of Habitat and Loss of Biodiversity Are Creating the Perfect Conditions for Diseases Like COVID-19 to Emerge
~ Rolling Stone, 12/7/20 How Climate Change Is Ushering in a New Pandemic Era https://bit.ly/3vBxuIm
Meat production:
~ Vox - June 10, 2020 The meat we eat is a pandemic risk, too
“If you actually want to create global pandemics, then build factory farms.” https://bit.ly/3xH2Qz3
~ The Guardian, 9/18/20 A 12-storey pig farm: has China found the way to tackle animal disease? https://bit.ly/3eRMZ8f
~ NY Times, 4/29/19
U.N. Issues Urgent Warning on the Growing Peril of Drug-Resistant Infections
~ Foreign Policy, 5/21/20 China’s Farms Are Petri Dishes of Antibiotic Resistance https://bit.ly/3eQcve4
~ NY Times, 6/7/19
Warning of ‘Pig Zero’: One Drugmaker’s Push to Sell More Antibiotics
Virology labs:
~ Newsweek, 4/27/20 The Controversial Experiments and Wuhan Lab Suspected of Starting the Coronavirus Pandemic https://bit.ly/3tlF2gV
~ Washington Post, 4/30/20 Chinese lab conducted extensive research on deadly bat viruses, but there is no evidence of accidental release https://wapo.st/3vAXpzJ
~ Vox, 5/1/20 Why some labs work on making viruses deadlier — and why they should stop https://bit.ly/3uccdVa
~ Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - February 25, 2019 Human error in high-biocontainment labs: a likely pandemic threat https://bit.ly/3eaavOE
~ Jamie Metzl, 5/2/21 (this page seems to be updated regularly)
Origins of SARS-CoV-2
[This site contains TONS of resources related to the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 originated in a China lab.]
Bioterrorism:
~ TED, 7/17/19
How synthetic biology could wipe out humanity -- and how we can stop it | Rob Reid
Pandemic resilience systems:
~ UN Environment Programme, 7/6/20 Preventing the next pandemic - Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission https://bit.ly/3nHIxgr
~ Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
Escaping the Era of Pandemics
~ Bloomberg Businessweek, 2/3/21 The Five Things to Get Right Before the Next Pandemic https://bloom.bg/3xJAnbG
~ The Guardian, 7/23/20 Cost of preventing next pandemic 'equal to just 2% of Covid-19 economic damage' https://bit.ly/3gUYLBc
Global vaccine distribution:
~ The Hill, 4/23/21
WHO leader blasts vaccine inequity on anniversary of COVAX plan
~ Washington Post, 3/11/21
The Health 202: The U.S. bought enough coronavirus vaccines for three times its adult population
~ New York Times, 12/15/20 With First Dibs on Vaccines, Rich Countries Have ‘Cleared the Shelves’ https://nyti.ms/3aWKMY0
~ New York Times, 1/31/21 As Virus Variants Spread, ‘No One Is Safe Until Everyone Is Safe’ https://nyti.ms/2QHPSk2
~ New York Times, 1/23/21 If Poor Countries Go Unvaccinated, a Study Says, Rich Ones Will Pay https://nyti.ms/3vCfAoN
Hunger:
~ United Nations – Global Humanitarian Overview, 11/30/20 https://bit.ly/3uce8ZS
~ World Politics Review, 12/7/20 COVID-19 Poses the Greatest Challenge Yet to the U.N. Humanitarian System https://bit.ly/3nL6Cmj
~ World Food Program - July 2, 2020 Coronavirus and hunger: WFP ready to assist largest number of people ever https://bit.ly/3eaNCdH
~ New York Times, 11/1/20 How the Wealthy World Has Failed Poor Countries During the Pandemic
Water:
~ World Resources Institute - January 21, 2020 It Could Only Cost 1% of GDP to Solve Global Water Crises https://bit.ly/3nEe174