Researched
COVID-19 pandemic
WHO declared a global health emergency on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March; it estimates 14.9 million excess deaths in 2020 and 2021.
Open in the interactive tree →The virus genome was shared within days, a UK trial showed in June 2020 that dexamethasone saves lives, and the first mRNA vaccines were authorised within a year. The crisis exposed gaps in surveillance, supply chains and fair vaccine access and led to the 2025 WHO pandemic agreement.
Prerequisites
Unlocks
- mRNA technology2020mRNA vaccines were first used at scale in the COVID-19 response
- WHO Pandemic Agreement2025The WHO pandemic agreement was negotiated in response to COVID-19
- Pandemic preparednessopenCOVID-19 showed vaccines can come within a year, but not in time or fairly shared
- Resilient Low-Carbon LogisticsopenCOVID-19 exposed thin, opaque supply chains