World could have prevented COVID-19 catastrophe: Expert panel

Report by Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response says ‘toxic cocktail’ of dithering and poor coordination means warning signs went unheeded.

An independent panel has concluded that the catastrophic scale of the coronavirus pandemic could have been prevented but a “toxic cocktail” of dithering and poor coordination meant the warning signs went unheeded. In its long-awaited final report on Wednesday, the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPPR) said a series of bad decisions meant COVID-19 went on to kill at least 3.3 million people so far and ravage the global economy. Institutions “failed to protect people” and science-denying leaders eroded public trust in health interventions, the IPPPR said. Early responses to the outbreak detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019 “lacked urgency”, with February 2020 a costly “lost month” as countries failed to heed the alarm, said the panel.