The next Covid-19 wave is probably already on its way

THE most important lesson of the Covid pandemic is that the only constant is change. Variants spread, cases surge and abate, treatments change and knowledge expands. This means that we - the public, elected officials and public health leaders - need to learn constantly and adapt quickly, acting on the insight that no one policy response is likely to stay effective for long.

Now is the moment to put that flexibility into practice. Rising Covid cases in Europe, the toll Omicron is taking particularly on unvaccinated elderly people in Hong Kong and slowing vaccinations are warnings that another wave of infections is likely approaching the United States. But we are by no means helpless. We can prepare better, save lives and reduce disruption.

Although the exact reasons for the rapid increase in cases in Europe aren't known, it almost certainly results from a combination of the highly infectious BA.2 Omicron subvariant, changing public behaviour and waning immunity.