According to new statistics, the majority of the population believes that UK politicians are not taking the threat of the next pandemic seriously.
Despite more than 200,000 deaths in the UK and three years since the Covid-19 pandemic was announced, 59% of respondents believe the threat of upcoming pandemics is not being taken seriously.
According to a survey, the UK population is very eager to see more action taken domestically and internationally to get ready for the next pandemic.
More than seven in ten (207%) of the 2,078 persons surveyed believed that governments everywhere should spend more in their local healthcare systems’ capacity to handle outbreaks in the future.
Prior to the inaugural Rhodes Policy Summit on Creating a Positive Legacy from the Pandemic on April 14 in London, the YouGov survey was commissioned by the Rhodes Trust.
“There is resounding agreement from the public that politicians need to step up and take immediate, decisive action to prepare for the next pandemic,” said Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford and chairman of the Rhodes Trustees, in response to the survey results.
“Covid-19’s deadly effects make it very evident that we cannot wait until a new virus begins to spread before taking action; rather, the moment to act is now.
To lessen the effects of the next pandemic and preserve lives, it is essential to start planning early and adopt a “Always On” strategy to ensure that our global healthcare systems are ready for the worst.
According to the survey, approximately 72% of respondents believe that politicians ought to collaborate more with foreign governments to stop the spread of illnesses.
While three out of five UK citizens (60%) believe that wealthier governments should do more to ensure that low- and middle-income countries have access to vaccines in times of need.
More over half (52%) of those surveyed in the study agreed that wealthier governments ought to encourage these nations’ efforts to produce their own vaccinations.
The public’s concern about the need for more political action to prepare for the next pandemic is warranted, according to health analytics organization Airfinity, which tracks the spread of infectious diseases.
Without an effective pandemic defense system, there is a 27.5% possibility that another pandemic as lethal as Covid-19 would occur within the next 10 years, according to the company’s disease risk modeling.
The chief executive officer and co-founder of Airfinity, Rasmus Bech Hansen, stated: “We are at risk of facing another pandemic as deadly as Covid-19 in the following ten years due to a growing global population, climate change, an increase in diseases transmitted from animals to humans, as well as increased international travel.
“However, our modeling demonstrates that this risk might be minimized by 70% with a ‘Always On’ vaccine approach.
“To prevent history from repeating itself, the world must be prepared, and to do this, public health infrastructure, surveillance, and global data sharing are essential.”
Online polling was done between March 13 and March 14, 2023. All UK adults (aged 18 and over) are represented by the figures, which have been weighted.
