How will tech help us navigate the next pandemic?

As the rhetoric moves from how we handle Covid-19 to how we move to the post-pandemic period, it is unlikely to be a popular move when one begins to talk of the next one.

It is, nonetheless, the case that we are more likely than not to witness another one, potentially more dangerous than Covid-19, in our lifetimes.

This is worth talking about not to make everyone afraid, but because only by thinking about it beforehand can we hope to avoid the global shock that greeted us all just two years ago.

One thing is for sure: technology is going to have its part to play in making sure we can navigate any future outbreak, be it from a coronavirus or some other pathogen.

Looking into what technology can do for us is essential, because it offers us an idea of the actions we can take to limit the impacts of, and play our part in resisting, the next pandemic. The following are some of the ways that tech can help us.

Information is the most powerful weapon we have

Time and again during the current pandemic, there have been efforts to claim that there is in fact no pandemic, that measures in place to stop it have been a conspiracy, and other unfounded arguments besides.

Technology has played an essential part in highlighting the false arguments and giving people access to useful information, testing and medical help. In any future pandemic, we’re likely to hear the first firm warnings online, allowing us to prepare for the outbreak.

Hygiene will be indispensable

One of the lessons that must be learned from the early days of Covid-19 is that by the time we were hearing of measures we could take to stem its spread, there was already significant infection within the public.

It stands to reason that one way of preventing the same problem next time around is limiting the potential for spread of an as yet unknown pathogen.

Business owners can remove infection flashpoints if they shop touchless flushing toilet technology from Faucets Canada, make more use of contact-free deliveries via drone, and allow streets and paths to be sanitised by robots among other technological options.

Telehealth will play a larger part

There is no escaping the fact that doctor’s surgeries become a potential vector for infection during a pandemic, particularly at the beginning when people are showing up with unexplained symptoms which then turn out to be pandemic-related.

Greater access to telehealth services will be of vital importance in the next pandemic. Employers could help here by including access to telehealth as part of an employee benefits package.

Should an employee then fall ill, they can have an appointment with a qualified doctor online, and medication can be electronically prescribed and automatically delivered.

Data can pinpoint spread

Testing, tracking and tracing was of fundamental importance in a number of countries which had better early results in the present pandemic.

The unfortunate thing is that this kind of measure is only as effective as it is widespread - pathogens are no respecter of borders, and no country is safe until all countries are safe.

It is possible to develop the kind of apps that initially worked so well in South Korea among other nations, make them open source, and have more of the world ready to identify hot spots and take timely action - and it is to be hoped that this opportunity will be taken in readiness for future pandemics.

Remote working - controversial, but essential in a pandemic

Working from home has its detractors - among them, there is no shortage of people who believe incorrectly that it is detrimental to productivity. However, remote working is going to continue to be vital given the fact that workplaces can be transmission hot spots.

Technology is essential to this process - not just for the Zoom calls that keep co-workers co-working, but also for monitoring of time worked, collaboration via Google Docs, and the firewalls that keep business technology safe. This is one area in which the response was fairly good in 2020, but it could always be better.

We all hope that any future pandemics are lighter than this one, that the existing infrastructure will be good enough to handle them and that we don’t see another one for some time. But what we hope isn’t important.

It’s what we do that matters, and technology will be a vital part of our responses whenever it comes. As the above shows, there’s a lot we can explore to make things better next time.