Will there be another pandemic in your lifetime?

Explore the probability of a future pandemic and the steps we can take to reduce its destructiveness.

--

We tend to think of pandemics as unlikely events, but disease outbreaks are surprisingly common. Over the past 400 years, the longest stretch of time without a documented outbreak was just four years. So, what’s the probability of experiencing another world-changing pandemic in your lifetime? Explore the likelihood of a future pandemic and the steps we can take to reduce its destructiveness.

Directed by Igor Coric, Artrake Studio.

This video made possible in collaboration with Gates Ventures

Support Our Non-Profit Mission
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------

Connect With Us
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------

Keep Learning
----------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------

Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Samuel Barbas, LadyGeek, Marin Kovachev, Penelope Misquitta, Hans Peng, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Hoai Nam Tran, Kack-Kyun Kim, Michael Braun-Boghos, zjweele13, Anna-Pitschna Kunz, Edla Paniguel, Thomas Mungavan, Jaron Blackburn, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, ReuniteKorea, Aaron Henson, Rohan Gupta, Begum Tutuncu, Brian Richards, Jørgen Østerpart, Tyron Jung, Carsten Tobehn, Katie Dean, Ezgi Yersu, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Eunsun Kim, Phyllis Dubrow, Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique Cassús, Karthik Cherala, Clarence E. Harper Jr., Vignan Velivela, Ana Maria, Exal Enrique Cisneros Tuch and Tejas Dc.

[Rana-kebp]

As a millennial, we learned the hard way to expect multiple "once in a lifetime" events. So my answer is, yes, there probably will be another lol

[shreyasgarg]

me: still processing covid
Ted: IT'S JUST THE START HAHA GOTCHYA

[green]

Our math teacher gave us project on making a presentation about the expected outcome of data in terms of population growth and the spread of virus using exponential functions. This helps me a lot, thanks!

[jkttiud]

As a gacha game player, 2% is really a high number.

[alexsiemers]

At this rate I’m expecting Halley’s Comet to start orbiting the sun every 10-20 years instead of 76. Even it’ll refuse to be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

[nganbairengbam]

I hope I accomplished my goals, lived my life and end my life before the next pandemic.

[rickrolling]

If we continue to ignore the problems like we did before, then yes, there will be more pandemics in our lifetimes.

[udobyte]

We are on an atrocious streak of unluckiness this decade.

[Googledeservestodie]

Not only can I say the answer is yes, I think we will actually be even LESS prepared next time

[donCorticosteroid]

Very informative, well explained. So much to think about from this video. Please keep up the good work. Thank you.

[lushbIood]

This doesn't even take into account viral laboratories and the pace of viral evolution.

[adamsontalabucon]

Though we survived the pandemic, Being jobless is the personal pandemic I experienced in my life. God help me. In God's Hands 🤲

[aidenkim]

Shouldn’t they also consider the chance of a lab leak

[thisisnootnoots]

Someone in the world: _sneezes_
Madagascar: "Close _EVERYTHING_"

Damn, Plague Inc was a great timekiller back in the day

[heristyono]

If only we had a global organisation that is promoting and responsible for public health.

[adriannalundasan]

“It’s just good business.”
The next one is already on the table 😂

[evropej]

The real pandemic is the world has lost its mind! For a world full of knowledge, I have never seen ignorance to this degree.

[KhoiruunisaRF]

Brilliantly thought, brilliantly said. Thank you TED-Ed. I will choose my own future wisely.

[talcono]

It's a touchy subject, but another notable factor is humanity's increasing ability to purposefully modify existing pathogens and make them more potent. The infamous "lab leak hypothesis" does *not* look to have been true this time, but it's also a disturbingly plausible scenario.

[JackMcFord]

Seeing a new video of Ted-Ed really makes my day!