The vast majority of people on Earth, who have lived through COVID will never forget it. So it’s imperative we use what we have learnt to inform future pandemic prevention plans.
How To Prevent The Next Pandemic evaluates various country approaches to managing COVID-19, whilst explaining steps we need to take to be more prepared in the future.
Many of the countries with the lowest excess mortality – Australia, Vietnam, New Zealand, South Korea – did three things well early in the pandemic. They tested a large share of the population quickly, isolated people who tested positive or had been exposed, and carried out a plan for detecting, tracing, and managing cases that may have come across their borders.
Pg 25
Bates emphasises that doing these three things – testing, isolating and handling possible cases from abroad – will ensure countries are in a better position to manage caseloads.
Despite this book being largely science based, it includes some great cross-curricular links around economic development and inequality – it could easily form the basis of a decision making activity.
Working in groups, students could be assigned a number (linked to a specific country* which is not disclosed until the end) for the duration of the activity with a theoretical number of cases.
During the activity students have to work together to decide which management strategies may help prevent a global pandemic, whilst considering the overall costs of implementing such strategies and the affects they may have on their population, GDP and healthcare provision. After all, pandemics do not affect everyone equally.
Strategies may include anything from border closures (pg 89) and contact tracing (pg 97-98) to lockdowns and Nonpharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) such as wearing masks (pg 106-108).
Upon completion, students could be asked to deconstruct the activity and consider their countries level of development and how this played a role in their overall success at preventing a global pandemic. Before revealing the country they were assigned.
*Countries must differ in economic development – low, middle and high income.
Mrs Geography 