As the world is just getting over Covid-19 after four years, a top British scientist warned that another pandemic is “absolutely inevitable”.
Prioritize Preparation
The former chief scientific adviser to the British government, Sir Patrick Vallance, urged the UK government to prioritize preparations for the pandemic and emphasized that the country is “not ready” for it yet. According to the report, Vallance, speaking at a panel event at the Hay Festival in Powys, stressed that the UK government must implement “better surveillance” to detect the threats of the virus.
He also recommended some measures to prevent drastic steps during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as diagnostic tests, vaccines, and treatments. The top scientist believes that such measures could be implemented, however, it would require some coordination.
“We know we have to have an army, not because there’s going to be a war this year, but we know it’s an important part of what we need as a nation. We need to treat this preparedness in the same way and not to view it as an easy thing to keep cutting back when there’s no sign of a pandemic – because there won’t be a sign of a pandemic,” he said, as quoted by The Guardian.
Drop-In Life Expectancy
Last week, the WHO said that Covid-19 has cut global life expectancy by almost two years, wiping out a decade of progress. According to the UN health agency’s World Health Statistics study, global life expectancy fell 1.8 years to 71.4 years – the same level it was in 2012.
The study said that the amount of time an average person can expect to live in good health fell 1.5 years to 61.9 years in 2021.
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Source: HindustanTimes
