KQED's Forum Science Journalist Jon Cohen on Preventing the Next Pandemic
Oct 8, 2025
Jon Cohen, Senior Correspondent at Science magazine and author of 'Planning Miracles,' discusses critical strategies for preventing future pandemics. He highlights the dangers posed by coronaviruses and influenza, and the vital role of surveillance, particularly in bats. Cohen critiques the panic-neglect cycle that undermines preparedness and emphasizes the need for quick vaccine development. Climate change and deforestation also contribute to rising pathogen risks, making innovative solutions in public health more necessary than ever.
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Focus On High-Risk Virus Families
- Only 25 of 111 virus families infect humans and a much smaller subset poses major pandemic risk.
- Prioritizing those high-risk families lets scientists focus surveillance and countermeasure development efficiently.
Fieldwork With Peter Daszak In Vietnam
- Jon Cohen joined Peter Daszak in Vietnam for bat surveillance and observed careful, methodical fieldwork despite controversy.
- Daszak has long tracked bat viruses and was targeted politically after his NIH-linked collaborations with Wuhan researchers.
Why Bats Are Unique Virus Reservoirs
- Bats are flying mammals that harbor many viruses without getting sick, enabling long-term carriage and movement of pathogens.
- Their flight, guano, and interactions with other animals create multiple spillover routes to humans.
