The myth of feeling safe from the pandemic: former CDC chief Tom Frieden

The Myth of Feeling Safe From the Pandemic | Former CDC Chief Tom Frieden | GZERO World

Although COVID will likely become endemic sometime this year in some parts of the world, the virus will still rage on everywhere else.

On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer catches out on the pandemic's state of play with former CDC chief Tom Frieden, who has a message for everyone who hasn't gotten vaxxed yet: do it, since new variants could emerge and make the virus more deadly.

Frieden says he's stunned by how infectious COVID is compared to other diseases — and that's why those who claim they can predict what's going to happen in a few weeks don't know what they're talking about.

Frieden thinks China should get better vaccines to the most vulnerable, and accept "almost" zero-COVID, like Singapore.

If we've learned anything from COVID, it's that we need to invest a lot more in public health. And now that many parts of the world have moved on from COVID, should we be worried about monkeypox?

Certainly, but we need to know more about the disease, Frieden tells Bremmer.

More from GZERO Media

After voters elected her to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, liberal candidate Judge Susan Crawford celebrates with Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Ann Walsh Bradley at her election night headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 1, 2025.

REUTERS/Vincent Alban

Republicans expanded their lean House majority after a pair of special elections in Florida, but a conservative candidate lost badly in a Wisconsin judicial race — despite a huge cash injection from Elon Musk.

- YouTube

If China, Japan, and South Korea formed a united front, what kind of leverage would they have in negotiating against US tariffs? I think they are heading in that trajectory. The question is, will it be enough to keep Syria stable and away from descending into civil war? Why does Trump want to take Greenland? Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

President Donald Trump, seen here on the South Lawn of the White House in February, is set to unveil his "Liberation Day" tariffs.

REUTERS/Craig Hudson

T-Day has arrived. Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on US trade partners will take effect immediately after a Rose Garden announcement, which is set to begin today at 4 p.m. ET.

A giant screen in Beijing shows news footage about the People's Liberation Army (PLA) joint army, navy, air and rocket forces drills around Taiwan on April 1, 2025.
REUTERS/Florence Lo

Beijing conducted one of the largest and most provocative military drills ever around the island -- but why now?

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a briefing, Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 28, 2025.
Ukrinform/ABACA via Reuters Connect

Vladimir Putin insists that Volodymyr Zelensky is no longer Ukraine’s legitimate president because his government has imposed martial law and delayed elections that were due in 2024.