Michael Coston
Editor, Senior Moderator
Switzerland Unveils New Pandemic Plan
#18,779
During the first decade of the 21st century - when H5N1 was raging in Asia - there were huge pushes for pandemic planning, but after the relatively mild 2009 H1N1 pandemic, most were relegated to some dusty drawer, and forgotten.
The CDC/HHS updated their pandemic plans in 2017 (see CDC/HHS Community Pandemic Mitigation Plan - 2017), but around the country (and around the world), actual pandemic preparedness had been largely put on a back burner.
In August of 2019, in WHO: Survey Of Pandemic Preparedness In Member States, we saw the dismal results of a two-year survey of global pandemic preparedness.
Sadly, only just over half (n=104, or 54%) of member states responded. And of those, just 92 stated they had a national pandemic plan. Nearly half (48%) of those plans were created prior to the 2009 pandemic, and have not been updated since.
Only 40% of the responding countries reported having tested their pandemic preparedness plans - through simulated exercises - in the previous 5 years, nearly all were influenza-centric plans.
Much like the IHR 2005 compliance (see Lancet Preprint: National Surveillance for Novel Diseases - A Systematic Analysis of 195 Countries), all of this was self-reported, and in retrospect some of their readiness appears to have been badly `overstated'.
A few months later, the world was put to the test with a novel coronavirus, and discovered that you need more than just a glossy document in order to be prepared.
While most of the world remains woefully unprepared for the next pandemic - with concerns rising over an invigorated H5N1 virus - we have started to see some small signs of increased preparedness.
The current pandemic plan no longer refers to a single pathogen, but rather to the transmission routes of respiratory pathogens. The plan takes into account the requirements of the Epidemics Act, which is currently being revised, as well as the One Health approach.
This, as you might expect, is an massive document (the summary alone is 35 pages), and the full report is spread across multiple online documents. Most of this is of interest only to the Swiss stakeholders, so I'll forego posting excerpts here.
Follow this link to read more.
Whether these plans - or the vaccines and antivirals being stockpiled - will be adequate or appropriate for the next global health crisis remains to be seen. As we've seen before, No Pandemic Plan Survives Contact With A Novel Virus.
But having a framework for dealing with a crisis, and running realistic exercises, can be invaluable when the next pandemic strikes.
Most of these pandemic plans are created by - and for - national governments. What planning may be going on at state/province/or local levels - or for the private sector - is harder to discern.
But pandemic planning isn't just for governments or agencies. Ideally, businesses - both large and small - civic organizations, and even families should be making pandemic plans as well (see Does Your Company Have A CPO?).
While it may be years before the next pandemic emerges - as we've seen - the world can change literally overnight. And once that happens, the options for preparedness rapidly wane.
Sadly, many of the older CDC pandemic guidance documents have broken links, have been `retired', or are difficult to find. After some searching I was able to find:
A Personal Pre-Pandemic Plan
.
https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2025/07/switzerland-unveils-new-pandemic-plan.html
#18,779
During the first decade of the 21st century - when H5N1 was raging in Asia - there were huge pushes for pandemic planning, but after the relatively mild 2009 H1N1 pandemic, most were relegated to some dusty drawer, and forgotten.
The CDC/HHS updated their pandemic plans in 2017 (see CDC/HHS Community Pandemic Mitigation Plan - 2017), but around the country (and around the world), actual pandemic preparedness had been largely put on a back burner.
In August of 2019, in WHO: Survey Of Pandemic Preparedness In Member States, we saw the dismal results of a two-year survey of global pandemic preparedness.
Sadly, only just over half (n=104, or 54%) of member states responded. And of those, just 92 stated they had a national pandemic plan. Nearly half (48%) of those plans were created prior to the 2009 pandemic, and have not been updated since.
Only 40% of the responding countries reported having tested their pandemic preparedness plans - through simulated exercises - in the previous 5 years, nearly all were influenza-centric plans.
Much like the IHR 2005 compliance (see Lancet Preprint: National Surveillance for Novel Diseases - A Systematic Analysis of 195 Countries), all of this was self-reported, and in retrospect some of their readiness appears to have been badly `overstated'.
A few months later, the world was put to the test with a novel coronavirus, and discovered that you need more than just a glossy document in order to be prepared.
While most of the world remains woefully unprepared for the next pandemic - with concerns rising over an invigorated H5N1 virus - we have started to see some small signs of increased preparedness.
- Last summer both South Korea and Japan issued revised pandemic plans
- Last November Hong Kong held a Coordinated Avian Flu Drill `Amazonite'.
- Last April the ECDC published ECDC Guidance: Recommendations for Preparedness Planning for Public Health Threats,
- Over the past year, PAHO (Pan American Health Organization) has repeatedly urged its member nations to proactively prepare to deal with a potential influenza pandemic
- and recently the WHO ratified a 2025 Pandemic Agreement.
- In 2023 Japan announced plans to stockpile about 10 million doses.
- The United States ordered about 4.8 million doses last summer, enough for about 2.4 million people.
- The EU announced plans to acquire 650,000 doses
- Last December the UK announced plans to purchase 5 million doses,
- Five months ago Canada'sPHAC Announced Plans To Purchase 500,000 doses Of H5N1 Vaccine.
- And 2 months ago the EU Commission Paved The Way For More H5N1 Vaccine Purchases
The current pandemic plan no longer refers to a single pathogen, but rather to the transmission routes of respiratory pathogens. The plan takes into account the requirements of the Epidemics Act, which is currently being revised, as well as the One Health approach.
This, as you might expect, is an massive document (the summary alone is 35 pages), and the full report is spread across multiple online documents. Most of this is of interest only to the Swiss stakeholders, so I'll forego posting excerpts here.
Follow this link to read more.
Whether these plans - or the vaccines and antivirals being stockpiled - will be adequate or appropriate for the next global health crisis remains to be seen. As we've seen before, No Pandemic Plan Survives Contact With A Novel Virus.
But having a framework for dealing with a crisis, and running realistic exercises, can be invaluable when the next pandemic strikes.
Most of these pandemic plans are created by - and for - national governments. What planning may be going on at state/province/or local levels - or for the private sector - is harder to discern.
Hopefully, more nations around the world are taking note and will act.
But pandemic planning isn't just for governments or agencies. Ideally, businesses - both large and small - civic organizations, and even families should be making pandemic plans as well (see Does Your Company Have A CPO?).
While it may be years before the next pandemic emerges - as we've seen - the world can change literally overnight. And once that happens, the options for preparedness rapidly wane.
Sadly, many of the older CDC pandemic guidance documents have broken links, have been `retired', or are difficult to find. After some searching I was able to find:
- British Columbia Gov. has a 17-page Household Pandemic Preparedness Guide
A Personal Pre-Pandemic Plan
.
https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2025/07/switzerland-unveils-new-pandemic-plan.html