Outsmarting the Next Pandemic: What Covid-19 Can Teach Us

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 US, Canada, Australia, the UK and Taiwan - the book shows how failures in leadership from governments, executives and institutions created a vacuum that was quickly filled by nay-sayers, conspiracy theorists, vaccine hucksters, and fake news generators. Through the key themes of healthcare, leadership, security, and education the chapters address critical questions such as: - Why have masks become such a polarizing force? - How do you self-isolate if you don't have a home? - Why equitable triage models for overwhelmed front line healthcare workers should 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 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.