Commentary
With Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) negotiating new agreements to centralize management of pandemics with an annual budget of over $31.5 billion, it would be reasonable to assume that everyone was clear on what a pandemic actually is. Surprisingly, this is not the case. Although countries will be voting in two months on a new Pandemic Agreement and amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) to grant the WHO wide authority over pandemic management, there is no universally-agreed definition of “pandemic.” What degree of severity is required? How widespread must it be? What proportion of the population must be at risk?
