Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization's COVID-19 technical lead, is worried "not enough is happening" around the globe to enhance infectious disease surveillance and implement other tactics that could prevent the next serious outbreak of a dangerous pathogen, she told Stat News in an interview about the WHO's forthcoming Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens.
"I see some work in this area," Van Kerkhove said, noting that "there are a lot of calls for better surveillance in animal populations, there's a huge effort to increase sequencing capacity worldwide." But, even though she believes "we're better prepared than we were a year ago to" to face future public health crises, she doesn't think the efforts to bolster the arsenal against them are moving "fast enough."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The week's best photosIn Pictures A tomato fight, painting behind bars, and more
-
Mountainhead: Jesse Armstrong's tech bro satire sparkles with 'weapons-grade zingers'The Week Recommends The Succession creator's first feature film lacks the hit TV show's 'dramatic richness' – but makes for a horribly gripping watch
-
Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists – a 'riveting' exhibitionThe Week Recommends Pallant House exhibition offers fascinating instances of painterly reciprocity
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive orderspeed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr.: A new plan for sabotaging vaccinesFeature The Health Secretary announced changes to vaccine testing and asks Americans to 'do your own research'
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measlesSpeed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study findsSpeed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influenceSpeed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
