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The danger posed by the novel coronavirus seems to have been forgotten now. However, it is unknown when a new infectious disease will spread. The lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic should be heeded, and preparations should quickly be made.
A new organization of experts to prepare for infectious disease crises, the Japan Institute for Health Security, has been established. It was created through a merger of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), which has been researching pathogens and studying infection trends, and the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, which has been providing medical care for patients and providing support overseas.
The research organization is based in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, and consists of about 3,900 staffers including doctors and researchers.
In 2023, the government established the Cabinet Agency for Infectious Disease Crisis Management to act as a command center for countermeasures against infectious diseases. The newly established research institute will provide the agency with advice based on scientific knowledge to support the government’s decision-making process.
In the early days of the pandemic, there was no organization to provide the government with expert advice, and it was only after the pandemic had been going on for some time that a panel of experts was finally established. Having an organization in place in advance to provide advice will certainly lead to a faster initial response.
The NIID was expected to act as a control tower in the fight against infectious diseases, but it was only able to analyze the infection situation and was unable to show a course of action to stop the spread of infections.
It is important for the agency and the new institute to communicate with each other on a regular basis so that they will not panic in a time of emergency.
One of the distinctive features of the new institute is that it will be able to act as a hospital to accept patients in the event of an outbreak of a new infectious disease and as a research institute to analyze pathogens. The aim is to quickly ascertain the actual situation of the disease and use this to develop treatment methods and new drugs.
Compared to other countries, Japan lagged behind in the development of vaccines and treatment drugs for COVID-19. The new institute will set up a system to quickly find substances that could be used as candidates for new drugs and conduct clinical tests.
Such tests for new drugs require the participation of other medical institutions as well. It is essential for the new institute to build cooperative relationships with major hospitals across the nation during times when there is no infectious disease outbreak.
The function of collecting and analyzing information about infectious diseases, which has been carried out by the NIID up to now, will also be strengthened. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the workload of each public health center became overwhelmed, and information did not reach the government quickly, making it difficult to ascertain the overall situation. Digitization should be promoted to facilitate information sharing between the central and local governments.
Experts around the world believe that the next pandemic will be very different in nature from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is possible that a highly pathogenic virus that threatens the lives of young people may emerge. Vigilance must be maintained.
