Approaches for Pandemic Preparedness and Response: Lessons from the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic — A Global Narrative Review: Pandemic Preparedness and Response: Lessons from the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Nida Shabbir; Urooj Irshad; Muhammad Naveed Anjum

doi:10.54393/fbt.v6i2.246

Authors

Nida Shabbir Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
Urooj Irshad Department of Biological Science, Superior University, Lahore, Pakistan
Muhammad Naveed Anjum Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54393/fbt.v6i2.246

Keywords:

SARS-CoV-2, Futuristic Biotechnology, mRNA Vaccines, CRISPR Diagnostics, Artificial Intelligence, Nanomedicine, Digital Epidemiology, Pandemic Preparedness

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 emerged in December 2019 and rapidly spread globally, catalyzing an unprecedented acceleration of biotechnology innovation. The pandemic served as a real-world proving ground for mRNA and nucleic-acid vaccine platforms. To synthesize current evidence on futuristic biotechnology platforms developed or matured during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, to evaluate their translational readiness and limitations, and to outline how their convergence could reshape preparedness for future biological threats, framed against the epidemiological and risk-factor lessons of COVID-19. A narrative literature review was conducted following standard review guidance. A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for articles published between December 2019 and July 2026, combining the keywords SARS-CoV-2, epidemiology, mRNA vaccine, CRISPR diagnostics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and wearable biosensor. Peer-reviewed, English-language articles reporting original data, technology-validation studies, or authoritative surveillance reports were eligible; conference abstracts, non-peer-reviewed preprints, and articles without full text were excluded. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts and assessed full texts for eligibility; disagreements were resolved by discussion. As of July 2026, the World Health Organization has reported over 7 million deaths globally. Lipid-nanoparticle-encapsulated mRNA vaccines demonstrated that nucleic-acid platforms can be designed, manufactured, and deployed within months rather than years, and next-generation bivalent and pan-sarbecovirus candidates are now in development. CRISPR-Cas12/Cas13-based diagnostics achieved RT-qPCR-comparable sensitivity at a fraction of the cost and turnaround time. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has catalyzed future biotechnology, validating nucleic acid vaccine platforms, CRISPR diagnostics, AI-driven drug discovery, nanomedicine, and digital/genomic surveillance as complementary, convergent tools.

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