Steps to take to combat future pandemics

Early days: A Jan 25, 2020, view of a roadblock stopping people from leaving Wuhan as the world began focusing on a spiralling viral outbreak. The UN should consider setting up a global agency to facilitate prompt action should such a crisis re-emerge in the future. — AFP

It is encouraging to know that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is sending a mission to Wuhan, China, where the Covid-19 virus first emerged to review and assess the reasons for this pandemic, and that China has endorsed this mission.

Never before had the world been confronted with such a critical and desperate situation as Covid-19 spread globally with alarming intensity and incredible magnitude towards the end of 2019. While the much-awaited vaccines have provided some hope, further time and evidence is required to fathom their long-term effectiveness and their overall impact in combating the virus.