Outsmarting the Next Pandemic

Book excerpt: This book examines the role of law and policy in addressing the public health crisis of COVID-19 and offers reforms that could improve pandemic preparedness for future outbreaks. Focusing on a number of countries most expected to provide agility and organization in their crisis response – the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Taiwan – the book shows how failures in leadership from governments, executives, and institutions created a vacuum that was quickly filled by naysayers, conspiracy theorists, vaccine hucksters, and fake news generators. Through the key themes of healthcare, leadership, security, and education, the chapters address critical questions: Why have masks become such a polarizing force? How do you self-isolate if you don’t have a home? How should equitable triage models for overwhelmed frontline healthcare workers be developed? Can we utilize artificial intelligence to educate the public about manipulated information they access concerning the pandemic? The book was written during the pandemic and weaves in to each chapter vignettes with personal revelations from a broad range of countries, including some also grappling with poverty, war, natural disasters, or revolution. It will appeal to academics, professionals, and policymakers interested in how law and health policy can converge on solutions for global infectious disease. It is suitable for use in upper-level courses.