Preparing for a Pandemic Makes Economic Sense

The newly discovered coronavirus from China has arrived in Washington State, and the number of cases in Asia is rising rapidly. Most of the time, the risks of a virus fizzle as it evolves into safer forms. But severe pandemics, killing millions, have been a common feature of human history. How should we think about preparation and response?

One issue deserving of more attention is the extent to which a major pandemic requires extremely close and difficult international coordination. For instance, most of the vaccine-making capacity against a new virus would be concentrated in a few multinationals, and much of that activity occurs outside the U.S. If a pandemic were to become truly serious, politics might intervene and prevent the export of doses of the vaccine, no matter what the price.