While it may appear that the U.S. is slowly gaining control over the Covid-19 virus through mass vaccination efforts, the war on pandemics is only just beginning, according to Deven Desai, Georgia Tech Scheller associate professor of law and ethics. In his latest op-ed piece in The Hill, Desai details ways in which future pandemics may be preventable through a Virus Early Warning System (Virus EWS).
“This virus, like all viruses, will mutate. Add in global and domestic travel, and we have a recipe for another pandemic. Yet, we have a chance right now to prevent that, by using what we have learned to build a Virus Early Warning System (Virus EWS),” he writes.
According to Desai, with public and private funding we can take three steps to keep not only Covid-19 but other viruses including the flu and its ongoing strains at bay. These steps are Leverage – Maintain and expand our virus testing capacity, Learn – Gather data from ongoing testing to learn about and improve our public health system, and Live – Use a Virus EWS to limit the effects of viruses that attack how we live and kill people we love.
Read the full op-ed story in The Hill: "Why we need to build a virus early warning system”
