Pandemic Exercises: Lessons for a New Era in Pandemic Preparedness.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Security
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for robust pandemic preparedness.
• Large-scale pandemic exercises are vital for maintaining public health security.
• Previous exercises by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security informed preparedness strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To emphasize the continued necessity of pandemic exercises post-COVID-19.
• To highlight the role of exercises in preventing policy complacency and neglect.
• To advocate for sustained policymaker engagement in health resilience.

Main Methods:

• Description of a developed approach for creating and conducting large-scale, high-level tabletop pandemic exercises.
• Leveraging over two decades of experience in pandemic preparedness exercises.
• Focus on engaging diverse sectors including government, healthcare, and private industry.

Main Results:

• Pandemic exercises enhance planning, resource allocation, and coordination.
• Exercises identify critical gaps and barriers in pandemic response.
• Exercises foster understanding of best practices and policies for pandemic events.

Conclusions:

• Pandemic exercises are essential for building and sustaining health resilience.
• Continued engagement with policymakers is critical to avoid cycles of panic and neglect.
• Exercises advance solutions needed to effectively address future pandemic challenges.