Pandemic responses: Planning to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 and prepare for future outbreaks

Type Web Page URL https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003123 Rights © 2020 The PLOS Medicine Editors. Date 28/04/2020 Extra https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003123 Accessed 2020-06-25 19:25:12 Website Type Editorial Language en Abstract In February, in the course of discussing possible challenges to international health plans for the 2020s, we noted in passing that “a new coronavirus outbreak [was] emerging in Asia at the time of writing” [1]. Vividly illustrating the pace at which an infectious disease outbreak can progress among a highly interlinked and susceptible global population, in the intervening few weeks a pandemic has not only taken hold but already reached virtually every country. As of 30 March, almost 700,000 cases of COVID-19 disease had been confirmed worldwide, with the severity of disease highlighted by the more than 33,000 deaths reported among those infected [2]. The severe and growing consequences of the pandemic are likely to have transformational effects on people, societies and health systems worldwide, and highlight the degree of interconnection of individuals and countries—calling for intensified and coordinated preparation and action in the future. Website Title The PLOS Medicine Editors (2020)