COVID-19 has left the world less prepared for an influenza pandemic

Prior to 2020, most pandemic preparedness efforts centered on influenza. Some countries, such as Aotearoa (New Zealand)¹, were able to successfully adapt national pandemic influenza plans to the response to COVID-19, and global influenza surveillance systems were harnessed for SARS-CoV-2 (ref. ²). It is now critical that nations and the international community implement lessons learned from COVID-19 back into influenza preparedness³. This task is particularly urgent given both the emergence of a number of influenza spillover threats and exhausted and depleted public health systems globally.

There are currently several avian influenza virus subtypes, including H5N8, H5N6 and H7N9, that international and national health organizations are monitoring for potential human cases and onward transmission. ...