this quote is from Fareed Zakaria's recent book "Ten Lessons For A Post-Pandemic World"...I haven't finished it yet, but couldn't help being impressed with the early insights and passing on a recommendation for it.
To go a little further with this particular paragraph from the book...
"...says Larry Brilliant, the American physician who helped eradicate smallpox forty-five years ago. What he means is that we may not be able to change the natural occurrences that produce disease in the first place, but through preparation, early action, and intelligent responses, we can quickly flatten its trajectory. In fact, the eradication of smallpox is a story that is only partly about science and mostly about extraordinary cooperation between rival superpowers and impressive execution across the globe."
Parenthetically, I recall a special program (PBS?) that chronicled the mass smallpox inoculations of Indian rural communities by international health workers to put the final nail in that pathogen's coffin.
My takeaway?...more international cooperation and infrastructure for dealing with such occurrences...
less name calling ("China Virus") and bashing of Int'l Orgs (e.g. WHO).