Multidisciplinarity is vital to pandemic management and preparedness

Abstract Governments around the world sought to address the Covid-19 pandemic through a range of engagements with various kinds of experts. At the same time, some disciplinary perspectives were privileged over others. For instance, while calls were made during the pandemic for more social science expertise on advisory panels, formal mechanisms for integrating insights from these disciplines were often more limited than would have been ideal. Some governments are now undertaking inquiries to assess national responses to Covid-19, including in relation to how knowledge and evidence was leveraged during the pandemic. In the UK, the official Covid-19 inquiry is ongoing, yet reports for the first two ‘Modules’ have been published and bear scrutiny for relevant insights. Module 2 remarks on the importance of different perspectives in tackling the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the wider effects of infection on society. Moving forward, to prepare for future pandemics full engagement across a wider range of disciplines – including across the humanities and social sciences – is essential.