Why COVID-19 is hitting us now — and what we’ll learn from it.

Where did the new coronavirus originate, how did it spread so fast — and what’s next? Sharing insights from the outbreak, global health expert and TED Fellow Alanna Shaikh traces the spread of COVID-19, discusses why travel restrictions aren’t effective and highlights the medical changes needed worldwide to prepare for the next pandemic. “We need to make sure that every country in the world has the capacity to identify new diseases and treat them,” she says.

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxSMU, an independent event. TED’s editors chose to feature it for you.

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