The covid-19 pandemic is a catastrophe that could have been averted, say a panel of 13 independent experts tasked with assessing the global response to the crisis. 

Their report, released May 12 and commissioned by the WHO, lambasts global leaders who failed to heed repeated warnings, wasted time, hoarded information and desperately needed supplies, and failed to take the crisis seriously. While some countries took aggressive steps to curb the spread of the virus, “many countries, including some of the wealthiest, devalued the emerging science, denied the disease's severity, delayed responding, and ended up sowing distrust among citizens with literally deadly consequences,” said Helen Clark, co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response and former prime minister of New Zealand, on Wednesday.