India more prepared than ever to face any future pandemic: Experts

India is well-prepared to face any future pandemic, said experts on the fourth anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic, on Monday. Covid was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. The pandemic claimed over 7 million lives globally, and more than half a million lives were lost in India.

While the WHO has officially declared the pandemic to be over in May 2023, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, causing the Covid infection, continues to mutate and infect large numbers of people worldwide.

However, the risk posed has decreased significantly. With scientists globally indicating the potential risk of future pandemic outbreaks, governments have seen the need for pandemic preparedness, which can enable all countries to equally access tests, and vaccines, among others.

This has also been put forward by the WHO and global health experts, especially as the pandemic saw the rich countries hoard vaccines, while many poor countries, in the Global South, were left to fend for themselves. While the former had a surplus of tests and vaccines, which also had to be trashed due to expiry dates, the latter suffered immense loss of lives, including of healthcare workers.