Rajnarayanan Tapped for Pandemic Preparation Stories

Salon, Fortune, and others recently featured insight from Rajendram Rajnarayanan, Ph.D., assistant dean of research and associate professor at NYITCOM-Arkansas, in coverage regarding preparation for the next pandemic. Rajnarayanan, who manages a COVID-19 sequencing dashboard, told Salon that it’s important to plan for the next pandemic, a hypothetical “Disease X,” because the world is more connected than ever before. While disease outbreaks in early history were more localized, they have a greater potential to spread more rapidly today, he explains. 

In Fortune, Rajnarayanan discussed how a pandemic treaty among the World Health Organization’s member nations would provide an international accord on pandemic preparation, positioning nations to better respond to Disease X than they did to COVID-19. “The need is for a balanced and comprehensive approach that considers diplomatic, cooperative, deterrent, and unifying measures to effectively address global health challenges,” he said.