Josh questions our preparedness for future pandemic.
On March 11th 2022, we crossed the two year mark since COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic. We have learned how to effectively mitigate the virus by social distancing, wearing masks, vaccinations, and much more. Does this mean we prepared for the next pandemic? When could it occur?
According to an article called “The next pandemic - when could it be? on Chatham House, it points out, “It is impossible to predict when the next pandemic will occur as they are random events.”
Just like Coronavirus, we do not know from where the exact origins came, but we do know that it was first discovered in a seafood market in Wuhan, China in December 2019. However, experts and scientists discovered that it could have been as early as November 2019. Looking back at the past, we were not prepared for what was coming.
Here are a few words from our administrators about if we are prepared for the next pandemic. FHS nursing staff declined to comment.
FHS principal, Dr. Solomon, hopes we do not have another pandemic, but unfortunately does not have any ideas for the response.
Ms. Martin, who is the 11th grade vice principal, said, “If we have another pandemic, it is my hope that humanity learns from the pandemic that we just experienced. That we recognize that we are all responsible for one another. I hope that science fairs us well and what we just lived through was not done in vain.”
So after all, are we prepared for the next pandemic? It seems we have lots of more work to do.
Experts warn us that this virus could mutate causing more surges, and increased restrictions. Even though we have the tools we need including medicines, vaccines, etc., we need to take this seriously. Who knows what is going to happen; only our choices can predict the future.