Pandemic Fatigue Undercuts Outbreak Response

When societies are worn out by recent pandemics, officials and publics become prone to underreacting to new outbreaks even when those outbreaks carry substantial downside risk. That complacency shifts attention and resources away from aggressive containment (quarantine, contact tracing, travel controls) precisely when one- to six-week incubation pathogens still require intensive suppression. — Highlights how political and social weariness can produce systemic under- preparedness for low‑probability, high‑consequence infectious threats, affecting policy choices about quarantines, travel screening, and investment in rapid response.