To prepare for future pandemics—and manage them when they inevitably arrive—the authors of a new paper by former NIH Director Francis Collins and others are urging a combination of broad investments, wide information-sharing and rebuilding of public trust.^[1]

Writing in a recent issue of Science, Collins and his coauthors recommended the following under several broad categories.

Support science

• “Invest broadly in basic, undirected virology, structural biology, genomics, molecular biology, immunology, epidemiology, and other key disciplines to build fundamental knowledge.

• “Support local and global surveillance to achieve the earliest possible detection of an emerging pathogen.

• “Begin now to develop vaccines (to phase 1), targeted therapeutics, and point-of-care diagnostics for the most likely future pathogens.

• “Stabilize and sustain large-scale global clinical trial networks to further enhance engagement with community hospitals and international partners. Keep these ‘warm’ and ready for action when needed.

• “Ensure immediate public release of research results.

• “Build trust through ongoing support of community-engaged networks that are based on partnerships between community organizations and scientists.

• “Make a major investment in behavioral and social science research to develop more effective ways of addressing vaccine hesitancy, crisis management, and other responses to public health messages.”