Popular in Sociology

Social Identities and Divisions

A new explanation of antisemitism: Jew hatred as a civilisational phenomenon

Boston University Liah Greenfeld

Culture and Society

The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place

New York University Harvey Moltoch

Culture and Society

Carceral Entrapments: Views from the Prison/Street Interface in India

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi Mahuya Bandyopadhya

Culture and Society

Pre-problem families: predictive analytics and the future as the present

University of Southampton Rosalind Edwards

Ethnicity and Racism

Were Muslim Barbarians Really Knocking On the Gates of Ontario?

University of Ottawa Natasha Bakht

Culture and Society

Poor People’s Survival Strategies

The University of Texas at Austin Javier Auyero

Ethnicity and Racism

Sociology of Whiteness

Arizona State University Monica McDermott

Planning for the Wrong Pandemic

View more insights in Social Sciences - Sociology - Culture and Society

View more figures from University of Southern California

View the page of Andrew Lakoff

Next in Culture and Society

Goodbye Religion

Jesse Smith, Ryan Cragun | University of Tampa, Western Michigan University

The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place

Harvey Moltoch | New York University

Why did expertly Why did expertly devised planning tools both clarify and obscure the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how can this insight change our preparation for future crises?

Image courtesy of interviewee. November 20, 2024

Log-in or Sign-up to Faculti
Currently viewing this subject insight as a guest. You have insight(s) remaining for this month. Login to view 8000+ figures on the platform.

Generating Workspace...

Export as PDF

This video is a reflection by a cultural anthropologist on pandemic preparedness and response, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The speaker discusses their previous work from 2017, where they published a book titled "Unprepared: Global Health in a Time of Emergency," which addressed the history of pandemic preparedness and the limitations of existing planning techniques, such as scenario-based exercises.

As the COVID-19 outbreak began in early 2020, many commentators referenced the book's title, interpreting it as prophetic. However, the author clarifies that the title was not meant as a diagnosis but as a call to action regarding an ethos of preparedness. They comment on the significant investments made in biological preparedness over the past two decades and observed that despite initial chaos in responding to the pandemic, many preparedness plans were implemented.

The author notes that while certain measures, like the Strategic National Stockpile, were intended for biological threats, they fell short when faced with the specific challenges of COVID-19, particularly regarding medical supplies. They also emphasize the importance of flexible planning, as different health crises present unique challenges.

Furthermore, they critique the governmental response under the Trump administration, which was characterized by a distrust of expertise. This video situation was compounded by inherent "blind spots" in pandemic planning that did not adequately account for the unique challenges posed by COVID-19 compared to previous health crises.

The author reflects on the need for transparent communication and humility from public health authorities to rebuild trust with the public, particularly in times of uncertainty. They suggest that investing in robust public health systems and biomedical research would be beneficial for both emergencies and ongoing health issues. Lastly, the speaker indicates a shift in focus toward climate change and water management issues, highlighting the need for experts to prepare for future uncertainties.

Language:

Export as PDF

Export as PDF
Here are five key points from the video:

1. **Background on Pandemic Preparedness:** The author discusses their book, "Unprepared Global Health in a Time of Emergency," published in 2017, which addressed the history and practices of pandemic preparedness, emphasizing the importance of techniques like scenario-based exercises in preparing for biological emergencies.

2. **Initial Response to COVID-19:** When the coronavirus outbreak began in early 2020, the author reflects on the United States' poorly coordinated response, despite having some preparedness strategies in place. Although there were established plans and a stockpile for certain biological threats, these were not adequate for the specific challenges posed by the coronavirus.

3. **Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions:** The video highlights the concept of "flattening the curve," which was based on prior research from the CDC. Initial planning was influenced by past flu pandemic responses, leading to unexpected economic and social consequences as prolonged shutdowns occurred, showing the limitations of pre-existing plans.

4. **Political Climate and Trust in Expertise:** The author underscores the impact of the political climate during the Trump administration, which was characterized by skepticism towards governmental expertise. This environment hampered effective public health communication and response, further eroding public trust in experts.

5. **Need for Flexible Planning and Transparency:** The author advocates for more flexible planning tools rather than overly specific protocols for pandemics. They emphasize the importance of transparency and humility in communication from health authorities, particularly regarding uncertainty during health emergencies, to rebuild public trust in expert guidance.

Export as PDF
Here are some key quotes extracted from your video, emphasizing the main themes discussed:

1. **On Pandemic Preparedness:**
- "The title of my book had not really been meant as a diagnosis, but rather it was a characterization of an ethos, of a kind of injunction to prepare..."
- "I was struck by the notion that in fact, we had been quite prepared, but that... that preparedness had not led to an efficacious response."

2. **On Government and Public Health Response:**
- "At the very moment when we needed a coordinated, flexible, thoughtful public health response... we had a political administration... that was precisely suspicious of the role that the government would have to play in an emergency."
- "The experts suffered a real diminution in public trust."

3. **On Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions:**
- "The idea of flattening the curve... was actually the result of a plan that had been put in place by experts at the Centers for Disease Control based on the possibility of a bird flu pandemic."

4. **On the Flexibility of Preparedness:**
- "It's really hard to know what kind of disease one’s going to face in the future... developing plans that are too specific... is a problem."
- "I think it's better to invest in response tools that are quite flexible and that are useful not only in the case of an emergency, but also in the case of ongoing everyday health issues."

5. **On Rebuilding Public Trust in Experts:**
- "It's really important for authorities to be frank about what they know and what they don’t know at the outset of an emergency."
- "One thing I think we can learn is a certain humility at the outset of an outbreak, and letting the public know that scientific research... may not have the best answers, but... it's gonna get better."

6. **On Future Challenges:**
- "I’ve shifted my gaze a little bit to thinking about the future of climate change."

These quotes encapsulate critical reflections on the challenges of pandemic preparedness, the importance of adaptable responses, and the need for trust in public health authorities.

Export as PDF
Here are some articles that cover similar themes and topics to the video you , focusing on pandemic preparedness, public health responses, trust in government and experts, and future planning for health emergencies:

1. **The Role of Scenario-Based Planning in Public Health**: This article discusses how scenario-based exercises and modeling can help public health experts better prepare for future pandemics and infectious disease outbreaks.

2. **Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic**: An analysis of the key lessons learned during COVID-19 regarding public health infrastructure, emergency preparedness, and the importance of flexibility in planning.

3. **Trust in Experts During Health Crises**: This article explores the factors that influence public trust in health authorities and experts during emergencies and discusses strategies for rebuilding trust.

4. **Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions in Pandemics**: A detailed examination of non-pharmaceutical interventions used during past pandemics, their effectiveness, and how they can be adapted for future public health crises.

5. **Preparing for the Next Pandemic: A Call for a Flexible Approach**: A piece advocating for a shift from rigid planning to more adaptable and flexible response strategies in public health policy.

6. **The Intersection of Politics and Public Health**: An exploration of how political climates affect public health responses and the implications of government skepticism toward health expertise.

7. **Communication Strategies in Public Health Emergencies**: Discusses the importance of clear and transparent communication from health authorities during crises, emphasizing managing public expectations and conveying uncertainty effectively.

8. **Epidemiological Preparedness Beyond Infectious Diseases**: Examines how lessons from pandemic preparedness can be applied to other public health challenges, such as climate change and chronic diseases.

9. **Assessing Preparedness: What Worked and What Didn’t?**: A critical look at the effectiveness of the United States' pandemic preparedness measures, focusing on successes and shortcomings observed during COVID-19.

10. **Cultural Anthropology and Global Health**: An analysis of how cultural anthropologists contribute to understanding health behaviors and public responses to health crises, including the implications for future preparedness efforts.

These articles provide a broad perspective on the issues raised in your video, touching on the complexities of pandemic preparedness, the role of experts, and the necessity for flexible and adaptive health strategies moving forward.

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:90000

1
00:00:00.125 --> 00:00:03.325
A little bit more than two years before the pandemic.

2
00:00:03.385 --> 00:00:06.245
In 2017, I had published a book

3
00:00:06.245 --> 00:00:08.565
that was called Unprepared Global Health in

4
00:00:08.605 --> 00:00:09.685
a Time of Emergency.

5
00:00:09.945 --> 00:00:12.125
And the book was about the, the history of the field

6
00:00:12.125 --> 00:00:14.325
of pandemic preparedness,

7
00:00:14.325 --> 00:00:17.045
and a about the role that techniques of anticipation like

8
00:00:17.845 --> 00:00:20.605
scenario-based exercises had played in shaping

9
00:00:21.155 --> 00:00:22.965
experts understanding of

10
00:00:22.965 --> 00:00:26.005
what would be necessary in a future biological emergency.

11
00:00:26.785 --> 00:00:31.085
So then when the coronavirus outbreak began in early 2020,

12
00:00:31.945 --> 00:00:33.205
a lot of journalists

13
00:00:33.205 --> 00:00:36.765
and other observers noted the title of my book, unprepared

14
00:00:36.945 --> 00:00:39.725
and thought, I had somehow been prescient.

15
00:00:39.785 --> 00:00:42.205
Um, I had anticipated this disease,

16
00:00:42.205 --> 00:00:45.045
and I, I, I had issued a call to arms,

17
00:00:45.045 --> 00:00:46.805
and they asked me, well, you know, why?

18
00:00:47.065 --> 00:00:50.645
Why does the United States seem to be performing so badly?

19
00:00:50.745 --> 00:00:52.085
Why were we so unprepared?

20
00:00:52.145 --> 00:00:53.845
The title of my book had not really been meant

21
00:00:53.845 --> 00:00:55.725
as a diagnosis,

22
00:00:55.785 --> 00:00:58.605
but rather it was a characterization of an, of an ethos,

23
00:00:58.625 --> 00:01:00.845
of a kind of injunction to prepare,

24
00:01:00.845 --> 00:01:03.165
and one that had been relatively successful.

25
00:01:03.165 --> 00:01:05.885
The United States had invested massively in biological

26
00:01:06.365 --> 00:01:07.805
preparedness over the prior two decades.

27
00:01:08.025 --> 00:01:10.485
And indeed, in the first several months

28
00:01:10.495 --> 00:01:11.925
after the outbreak of the pandemic,

29
00:01:11.925 --> 00:01:14.125
even though there was a lot of chaos

30
00:01:14.225 --> 00:01:17.645
and disorder in the government's response, I also saw a lot

31
00:01:17.645 --> 00:01:20.845
of those, plans being put into action.

32
00:01:21.465 --> 00:01:24.285
Um, so I was struck by the notion that in fact,

33
00:01:24.345 --> 00:01:25.525
we had been quite prepared,

34
00:01:25.625 --> 00:01:28.285
but that, that, that preparedness had not led

35
00:01:28.285 --> 00:01:30.445
to an efficacious response.

36
00:01:30.455 --> 00:01:35.205
There were a bunch of, measures that had had been,

37
00:01:35.745 --> 00:01:38.485
the target of, of up to billions of dollars in investment

38
00:01:38.545 --> 00:01:40.765
by the federal government, for example,

39
00:01:40.765 --> 00:01:43.765
we had a massive stockpile called the Strategic National

40
00:01:43.765 --> 00:01:46.205
Stockpile, that had been built in the late 10,

41
00:01:46.205 --> 00:01:47.885
late 1990s and early two thousands,

42
00:01:47.885 --> 00:01:51.845
originally in preparation for a biological terrorist attack.

43
00:01:51.945 --> 00:01:56.005
Um, and so that stockpile contained, millions of doses

44
00:01:56.005 --> 00:02:00.525
of smallpox vaccine, anthrax, vaccine botulism, antitoxin.

45
00:02:01.065 --> 00:02:03.125
Um, and so we were ready for a bunch of things.

46
00:02:03.185 --> 00:02:05.845
We just weren't really very ready for the coronavirus.

47
00:02:05.985 --> 00:02:09.125
It didn't have enough, supplies like medical gowns,

48
00:02:09.405 --> 00:02:11.245
N95 masks ventilators.

49
00:02:11.385 --> 00:02:14.765
So you saw at the outbreak of the pandemic, you know,

50
00:02:14.845 --> 00:02:16.445
a run on these supplies and, and,

51
00:02:16.465 --> 00:02:19.165
and chaotic competition between states over

52
00:02:19.225 --> 00:02:20.365
who could have access to them.

53
00:02:20.585 --> 00:02:21.965
One response to the pandemic

54
00:02:21.965 --> 00:02:24.525
that was well known was the idea of flattening the curve.

55
00:02:24.905 --> 00:02:27.565
Uh, now that was actually the result of a plan

56
00:02:27.565 --> 00:02:30.805
that had been put in place by, experts at the Centers

57
00:02:30.865 --> 00:02:33.525
for Disease Control based on the possibility

58
00:02:33.525 --> 00:02:34.565
of a bird flu pandemic.

59
00:02:35.265 --> 00:02:37.645
Uh, those experts had looked at patterns of response

60
00:02:37.645 --> 00:02:40.965
during the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic

61
00:02:41.105 --> 00:02:45.245
and saw that in cities that closed down public events,

62
00:02:45.245 --> 00:02:49.205
they had a, a lower mortality rate to flu densities

63
00:02:49.205 --> 00:02:51.605
that did not immediately close down public

64
00:02:51.605 --> 00:02:52.685
events and gatherings.

65
00:02:52.705 --> 00:02:56.205
So they put in place a plan, that were, that involved

66
00:02:56.205 --> 00:02:58.885
what were called non-pharmaceutical interventions,

67
00:02:58.925 --> 00:03:02.525
Things like shutting down a non-essential businesses,

68
00:03:02.555 --> 00:03:03.565
closing schools.

69
00:03:03.985 --> 00:03:08.325
Um, but the idea had to do with the patterns that flu,

70
00:03:08.415 --> 00:03:10.525
tends to run, which is in waves,

71
00:03:10.585 --> 00:03:11.965
and the idea that, a vaccine

72
00:03:12.065 --> 00:03:13.805
for flu would be available within a few months.

73
00:03:14.105 --> 00:03:18.285
Uh, so the planners assumed that these non-pharmaceutical

74
00:03:18.885 --> 00:03:21.325
interventions, these efforts to flatten the curve in order

75
00:03:21.385 --> 00:03:23.405
not to overwhelm the medical system,

76
00:03:23.455 --> 00:03:25.245
would just be a matter of a couple of months.

77
00:03:25.945 --> 00:03:29.325
Um, they didn't really envision, a seemingly kind

78
00:03:29.325 --> 00:03:31.685
of endless series of such of shutdowns that led

79
00:03:31.685 --> 00:03:35.725
to public protests that had massive economic effects,

80
00:03:35.725 --> 00:03:37.205
effects on people's education

81
00:03:37.265 --> 00:03:39.965
and effects that were unequal depending on one's social

82
00:03:39.965 --> 00:03:41.365
class and occupation.

83
00:03:41.525 --> 00:03:44.325
I think that, you know, we, we happened to have in place

84
00:03:44.925 --> 00:03:46.685
a government, at the time,

85
00:03:46.745 --> 00:03:50.165
the first Trump administration that was avowedly suspicious

86
00:03:50.225 --> 00:03:52.365
of expertise and suspicious of, of government.

87
00:03:52.425 --> 00:03:56.805
So, at the very moment when we needed a, a coordinated,

88
00:03:57.365 --> 00:03:59.805
flexible, thoughtful public health response

89
00:04:00.025 --> 00:04:02.445
and clear communication with the public,

90
00:04:02.465 --> 00:04:05.085
we had a political administration in place in the federal

91
00:04:05.085 --> 00:04:08.965
government that was precisely suspicious of, of the role

92
00:04:08.965 --> 00:04:11.005
that the government would have to play in an emergency.

93
00:04:11.005 --> 00:04:12.045
So that was one part of it.

94
00:04:12.185 --> 00:04:14.765
Um, but another part of it, I think, had to do with some

95
00:04:14.765 --> 00:04:18.725
of these built-in blind spots, that were, that,

96
00:04:18.725 --> 00:04:21.165
that were the result of planning for different kinds

97
00:04:21.165 --> 00:04:23.365
of events than what actually unfolded in the case

98
00:04:23.365 --> 00:04:25.365
of pandemics or epidemic outbreaks.

99
00:04:25.625 --> 00:04:28.045
Um, it's really hard to know what kind

100
00:04:28.045 --> 00:04:29.965
of disease one's going to face in the future.

101
00:04:30.225 --> 00:04:33.965
Uh, if you look just even at the last couple of decades,

102
00:04:34.495 --> 00:04:37.725
Ebola, H one N one flu, the coronavirus,

103
00:04:37.955 --> 00:04:40.205
they all created very different kinds of problems.

104
00:04:40.385 --> 00:04:42.205
Um, and so I think that,

105
00:04:42.345 --> 00:04:44.845
and certainly something like a smallpox attack

106
00:04:44.865 --> 00:04:46.205
or an anthrax attack would create

107
00:04:46.205 --> 00:04:47.445
an entirely different set of issues.

108
00:04:47.545 --> 00:04:51.685
And so I think one problem is in, developing plans

109
00:04:51.685 --> 00:04:54.565
that are too specific, as we saw with the case

110
00:04:54.565 --> 00:04:59.245
of the stockpile or in a certain way with, with, the,

111
00:04:59.265 --> 00:05:02.325
in the case of flattening the curve, I think it's better

112
00:05:02.325 --> 00:05:05.285
to invest in, response tools that are quite flexible

113
00:05:05.425 --> 00:05:08.165
and that are useful not only in the case of an emergency,

114
00:05:08.165 --> 00:05:09.605
but also in the case

115
00:05:09.605 --> 00:05:12.045
of ongoing everyday health issues that we face.

116
00:05:12.065 --> 00:05:15.205
So investing in basic biomedical research in immunology,

117
00:05:15.205 --> 00:05:18.085
investing in the strong public health system assuring

118
00:05:18.085 --> 00:05:21.885
that people have access to, to healthcare, equally,

119
00:05:22.065 --> 00:05:23.965
those are the kinds of things that are going to work.

120
00:05:24.105 --> 00:05:26.245
Um, you know, whether or not we have a massive health

121
00:05:26.395 --> 00:05:29.205
emergency, the experts suffered a real,

122
00:05:29.695 --> 00:05:31.325
diminution in public trust.

123
00:05:31.665 --> 00:05:33.805
And the question, I think is how to rebuild that trust,

124
00:05:33.805 --> 00:05:35.645
especially, again, facing,

125
00:05:35.845 --> 00:05:37.845
a political climate in which there's not a lot

126
00:05:37.845 --> 00:05:39.925
of confidence in government institutions.

127
00:05:39.925 --> 00:05:41.925
There's not, not a lot of confidence in,

128
00:05:42.865 --> 00:05:45.965
in experts in places like the, the government health,

129
00:05:46.505 --> 00:05:47.965
agencies.

130
00:05:48.825 --> 00:05:51.485
Uh, and so one thing that the field of risk communication,

131
00:05:51.485 --> 00:05:54.885
for example, has demonstrated is that it's really important

132
00:05:54.985 --> 00:05:56.725
for authorities to be frank

133
00:05:56.725 --> 00:05:57.845
Both about what they know

134
00:05:57.865 --> 00:06:00.565
and what they don't know at the outset of an emergency.

135
00:06:00.705 --> 00:06:02.525
And, and projecting overconfidence

136
00:06:02.525 --> 00:06:05.885
that is then undermined if the results don't unfold in the

137
00:06:05.885 --> 00:06:07.445
way that experts anticipated,

138
00:06:08.045 --> 00:06:09.365
I think undermines public trust.

139
00:06:09.505 --> 00:06:11.645
So it's one, one thing I think,

140
00:06:11.785 --> 00:06:14.285
we can learn is a certain humility at the outset

141
00:06:14.285 --> 00:06:16.005
of an outbreak,

142
00:06:16.005 --> 00:06:19.365
and letting the public know that scientific, research

143
00:06:19.505 --> 00:06:22.205
and discovery is a process of testing and revision.

144
00:06:22.665 --> 00:06:24.365
Um, and we may not have the best answers,

145
00:06:24.465 --> 00:06:26.485
but at the moment, but it's gonna get better.

146
00:06:26.745 --> 00:06:29.885
Um, and, and so demonstrating being transparent about one's

147
00:06:29.885 --> 00:06:31.245
uncertainty, I think probably will,

148
00:06:31.245 --> 00:06:34.125
will actually help in encouraging the public

149
00:06:34.185 --> 00:06:38.165
to trust the kinds of guidance that, that scientists

150
00:06:38.165 --> 00:06:39.285
and doctors are providing.

151
00:06:39.625 --> 00:06:40.845
I'm a cultural anthropologist

152
00:06:40.845 --> 00:06:42.285
and I'm, I'm widely interested in

153
00:06:42.745 --> 00:06:45.125
how experts think about the future,

154
00:06:45.185 --> 00:06:47.725
and I've, I've shifted my gaze a little bit

155
00:06:47.725 --> 00:06:49.845
to thinking about the future of climate change.

156
00:06:50.265 --> 00:06:52.885
Um, and, as someone who lives in California,

157
00:06:52.995 --> 00:06:54.365
I've been interested for a long time,

158
00:06:54.455 --> 00:06:57.205
especially in southern California, in the problem

159
00:06:57.205 --> 00:06:59.685
of water scarcity and, and availability.

160
00:06:59.905 --> 00:07:02.165
And so I'm developing a project now that's about

161
00:07:02.305 --> 00:07:04.445
how experts in water management

162
00:07:04.465 --> 00:07:07.565
and in climate are anticipating a future of volatility

163
00:07:07.665 --> 00:07:08.965
and trying to plan for that future.

Reflections on Pandemic Preparedness and Response

00:00:00 - A little bit more than two years before the pandemic. In 2017, I had published a book that was called Unprepared Global Health in a Time of Emergency. And the book was about the, the history of the field of pandemic preparedness, and a about the role that techniques of anticipation like scenario-based exercises had played in shaping experts understanding of what would be necessary in a future biological emergency. So then when the coronavirus outbreak began in early 2020,

00:00:33 - and other observers noted the title of my book, unprepared and thought, I had somehow been prescient. I had anticipated this disease, and I, I, I had issued a call to arms, and they asked me, well, you know, why? Why does the United States seem to be performing so badly? Why were we so unprepared? The title of my book had not really been meant as a diagnosis, but rather it was a characterization of an, of an ethos, of a kind of injunction to prepare, and one that had been relatively successful.

00:01:06 - preparedness over the prior two decades. And indeed, in the first several months after the outbreak of the pandemic, even though there was a lot of chaos and disorder in the government's response, I also saw a lot of those, plans being put into action. so I was struck by the notion that in fact, we had been quite prepared, but that, that, that preparedness had not led to an efficacious response. There were a bunch of, measures that had had been,

Pandemic Preparedness: Lessons from the Strategic National Stockpile

00:01:38 - by the federal government, for example, we had a massive stockpile called the Strategic National Stockpile, that had been built in the late 10, late 1990s and early two thousands, originally in preparation for a biological terrorist attack. and so that stockpile contained, millions of doses of smallpox vaccine, anthrax, vaccine botulism, antitoxin. and so we were ready for a bunch of things. We just weren't really very ready for the coronavirus.

00:02:09 - N95 masks ventilators. So you saw at the outbreak of the pandemic, you know, a run on these supplies and, and, and chaotic competition between states over who could have access to them. One response to the pandemic that was well known was the idea of flattening the curve. now that was actually the result of a plan that had been put in place by, experts at the Centers for Disease Control based on the possibility of a bird flu pandemic. those experts had looked at patterns of response

00:02:41 - and saw that in cities that closed down public events, they had a, a lower mortality rate to flu densities that did not immediately close down public events and gatherings. So they put in place a plan, that were, that involved what were called non-pharmaceutical interventions, Things like shutting down a non-essential businesses, closing schools. but the idea had to do with the patterns that flu,

Challenges in Pandemic Response Planning

00:03:10 - and the idea that, a vaccine for flu would be available within a few months. so the planners assumed that these non-pharmaceutical interventions, these efforts to flatten the curve in order not to overwhelm the medical system, would just be a matter of a couple of months. they didn't really envision, a seemingly kind of endless series of such of shutdowns that led to public protests that had massive economic effects, effects on people's education and effects that were unequal depending on one's social

00:03:41 - I think that, you know, we, we happened to have in place a government, at the time, the first Trump administration that was avowedly suspicious of expertise and suspicious of, of government. So, at the very moment when we needed a, a coordinated, flexible, thoughtful public health response and clear communication with the public, we had a political administration in place in the federal government that was precisely suspicious of, of the role that the government would have to play in an emergency.

00:04:12 - but another part of it, I think, had to do with some of these built-in blind spots, that were, that, that were the result of planning for different kinds of events than what actually unfolded in the case of pandemics or epidemic outbreaks. it's really hard to know what kind of disease one's going to face in the future. if you look just even at the last couple of decades, Ebola, H one N one flu, the coronavirus, they all created very different kinds of problems. and so I think that,

Flexible Preparedness and Rebuilding Public Trust

00:04:44 - or an anthrax attack would create an entirely different set of issues. And so I think one problem is in, developing plans that are too specific, as we saw with the case of the stockpile or in a certain way with, with, the, in the case of flattening the curve, I think it's better to invest in, response tools that are quite flexible and that are useful not only in the case of an emergency, but also in the case of ongoing everyday health issues that we face. So investing in basic biomedical research in immunology,

00:05:18 - that people have access to, to healthcare, equally, those are the kinds of things that are going to work. you know, whether or not we have a massive health emergency, the experts suffered a real, diminution in public trust. And the question, I think is how to rebuild that trust, especially, again, facing, a political climate in which there's not a lot of confidence in government institutions. There's not, not a lot of confidence in, in experts in places like the, the government health,

00:05:48 - and so one thing that the field of risk communication, for example, has demonstrated is that it's really important for authorities to be frank Both about what they know and what they don't know at the outset of an emergency. And, and projecting overconfidence that is then undermined if the results don't unfold in the way that experts anticipated, I think undermines public trust. So it's one, one thing I think, we can learn is a certain humility at the outset of an outbreak, and letting the public know that scientific, research

Embracing Uncertainty: Expert Perspectives on Future Challenges

00:06:22 - and we may not have the best answers, but at the moment, but it's gonna get better. and, and so demonstrating being transparent about one's uncertainty, I think probably will, will actually help in encouraging the public to trust the kinds of guidance that, that scientists and doctors are providing. I'm a cultural anthropologist and I'm, I'm widely interested in how experts think about the future, and I've, I've shifted my gaze a little bit to thinking about the future of climate change.

00:07:07 - I've been interested for a long time, especially in southern California, in the problem of water scarcity and, and availability. And so I'm developing a project now that's about how experts in water management and in climate are anticipating a future of volatility and trying to plan for that future.

Faculti AI can make mistakes

Faculti

Popular in Sociology

The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place

Carceral Entrapments: Views from the Prison/Street Interface in India

Pre-problem families: predictive analytics and the future as the present

Were Muslim Barbarians Really Knocking On the Gates of Ontario?

Poor People’s Survival Strategies

Planning for the Wrong Pandemic

Next in Culture and Society

Guide

Platform and Category Pages

Contact Us

FAQs

What is Faculti?

How do you select interviews?

Interview Process

Page Structure

Popular in Sociology

Guide

Platform and Category Pages

Contact Us

FAQs

What is Faculti?

How do you select interviews?

Interview Process

Accessibility Options

Contrast Adjustment

Text Size Adjustment

Text Spacing Adjustment

Line Height Adjustment

Cursor Size Adjustment

Page Structure Options

Page Structure