Planning Miracles: How to Prevent Future Pandemics

This in-depth chronicle of how the world has handled and mishandled infectious diseases—from Ebola and Zika to Covid-19 and mpox—from science journalist Cohen (Almost Chimpanzee) explores what needs to be done to prevent future pandemics. Cohen follows scientists studying viruses around the world—in state fairs, Cambodian wet markets, and the depths of the Amazon rainforest—to identify possible threats and how to prepare for them. The scientists explain how climate change raises the risk of future pandemics, as warming temperatures alter animal habitats and migration patterns, increasing opportunities for pathogens to jump to humans. They urge increasing surveillance for viruses, stockpiling vaccines, and transparent sharing of data, among other efforts. Typically, the world goes through “cycles of panic and neglect,” Cohen explains; when epidemics burst onto the scene, there’s a surge of interest in solving the crisis, but as the danger wanes, so too does funding to address it. As Cohen writes of the 2024 bird flu outbreak in the U.S., “pandemic prevention requires planning for the worst. The United States appeared to be planning for the best.” Cohen provides a great deal of intriguing information throughout the narrative, as when he describes efforts to use drones and air samplers to surveil viruses in the wild. On the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic, this urgent alarm bell rings loud and clear. (Oct.)