Pandemic Ready: Safeguarding Our Future Through Preparedness

Chair’s Introduction

“As the generation that lived through COVID-19, we have a collective responsibility to protect future generations from the suffering we endured.

We must not be taken by surprise next time. And to not be surprised, we need to be prepared^[1].”

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), captured the essence of the Standing Committee on Pandemic Preparedness (‘the Committee’) in these brief remarks in Glasgow in March 2024. His words underscored both the urgency driving the Standing Committee on Pandemic Preparedness’ (‘the Committee’) work and deep interconnection between Scotland and the global community when addressing future pandemic risks.

While the exact nature of the next pandemic threat remains uncertain, the experiences of COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease have shown how profoundly such threats can affect Scottish society – far beyond the realm of public health. This report aims to stimulate transformative changes in Scotland’s pandemic preparedness, drawing on the critical lessons learned from COVID-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks. Its purpose is to define the most effective way to unite scientists and technical experts in advising the Scottish Government (SG) on future pandemic risks, ensuring that Scotland is as prepared as possible to face these risks.

This report’s recommendations aim to ensure that learnings and new knowledge can be synthesised and communicated quickly and effectively when the next pandemic arrives. As such, it does not address all areas of pandemic preparedness (e.g., personal protective equipment procurement, vaccine procurement etc.) as these are not within the scope of the Committee’s commission from the then First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. Nevertheless, the Committee is of a strong view that a resilient health and social care system, including a strong primary care system, is vital for ensuring Scotland’s preparedness for future pandemics.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw the strengthening of disease surveillance systems through the use of new technologies enabling the identification of a wider range of threats, including cutting-edge genomic sequencing and the development of near real-time Scotland-wide intelligence on COVID-19. There have also been significant advances in the approaches to diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics where the aim must now be not only to retain recent advances, but to develop and innovate further. The connections and collaborations that were forged in the pandemic have in some cases remained, but as time passes, they increasingly need to be protected and cultivated as people move on and resources return to normal levels.