What is a pandemic plan?

Pandemic planning in the news

Pandemic planning received renewed global attention with the emergence and spread of the coronavirus in late 2019. The highly contagious COVID-19 pandemic resulted in shutdowns across the globe, with many organizations sending their employees home to work remotely to help stop the spread of the virus. As with epidemics and pandemics throughout history, the COVID-19 outbreak raised healthcare, business and governmental policy questions that affect the world's economy.

When a pandemic simultaneously affects multiple countries for an extended period, the fallout can have a significant impact on supply chains. Typically, consumer demand for healthcare products related to infection control and nonperishable food increases dramatically during the early days of a pandemic, and shoppers might choose home delivery or drive-through services to reduce the risk of person-to-person contact.

Why should a business plan for a pandemic?

Although planning can be time-consuming, the price of not having robust preparedness programs in place can be even more costly. Plans require a multilayered approach conducted over an extended period. To be effective, the plan should be a living document that is reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

The following is a suggested sequence of pandemic plan development activities:

• Obtain copies of existing business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
• Establish a pandemic recovery team (PRT) to coordinate pandemic preparedness.
• Establish a pandemic plan glossary to be sure that the language in your crisis communication plan is used correctly and consistently.
• Have the PRT meet with human resources, senior management and internal technology groups, as well as business continuity and emergency response teams, to establish the scope of the plan.
• Brief business units and senior management on these meetings so that they are fully informed.
• Gather all relevant employee information, including contact information and an inventory of skills.
• Gather all relevant business process information, focusing on critical activities that must be maintained.
• Gather information about the technology infrastructure that supports these processes.
• Communicate the pandemic crisis action plan to employees and business partners.
• Conducting "fire drill" exercises to identify potential problems with the plan.

Pandemics and the supply chain

A worldwide pandemic can have major effects on travel, trade, tourism, food consumption and eventually, investment and financial markets. In a severe outbreak, employees might stay home because they are sick, family members are sick, schools or day care centers are closed, or they are simply afraid to come to work and be exposed to someone who is sick. When this happens, product shipments from affected geographic areas might be delayed -- or even canceled, if absenteeism levels are high enough.

Communication is an important part of pandemic planning. To keep the economy moving, businesses should alert customers when supply chain disruptions are expected to lead to short-term product delays. Communication plans should also address alternative procedures for pickups and deliveries to suppliers and customers.

Having a plan in place to mitigate the risk of a supply chain breakdown can make the difference between simply staying in business during a pandemic and actually staying profitable. One of the first things an organization should do when writing a plan is to document the business's processes and procedures, and specify how essential services could be provided by alternate suppliers during a period of significant, sustained absenteeism.

The plan should also address how the business will cross-train employees to make the best use of existing systems with a reduced workforce. Training employees ahead of time on the use of critical systems and applications is essential. Brainstorming ways to use robots, drones and AI technology to reduce human interaction can also be helpful.

To be sure that cybersecurity management activities can be maintained and, if necessary, recovered and restarted quickly, cybersecurity operating procedures should be documented and kept current. Although some experts maintain that a pandemic is unlikely to directly affect cybersecurity technologies and networks, if the individuals responsible for cybersecurity -- and other critical business functions -- get sick, they could be unable to perform their duties in the event of an outbreak.

What causes a pandemic?

The word pandemic comes from the Greek pandemos, meaning "pertaining to all people." Pandemics are usually caused by an infectious agent that is newly capable of spreading rapidly. The likelihood of new diseases spreading quickly has grown with increased travel and mobility. Some healthcare professionals predict that antibiotic resistance could also raise the risk of new types of disease.

Unlike seasonal influenza, which can be planned for, the rapid spread of a pandemic influenza typically catches people by surprise. Because such a virus strain is so new, the general population is likely to have little or no immunity. Although new viruses typically do not spread between species, if one mutates, it might start to spread easily and result in a pandemic that affects both people and animals.

What to do during a pandemic

According to Ready, a government-sponsored public service campaign in the U.S., when there is a pandemic, people should take the following actions:

• Avoid close contact with others.
• Wash your hands often.
• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Get plenty of sleep.
• Remain physically active.
• Manage stress.
• Drink plenty of fluids.
• Eat nutritious food.

Pandemic vs. epidemic

An epidemic refers to a sudden surge in the number of instances of a disease, above that which is typical in a population. Epidemics escalate into pandemics when diseases spread over several countries or continents and affect a larger number of people. When a viral infection becomes widespread in several countries at the same time, it can become a pandemic.

Pandemics are usually associated with influenza, but throughout history, the term has also been used to describe widespread outbreaks of cholera, bubonic plague and smallpox. There can be a fine line distinguishing an epidemic from a pandemic. For example, the Ebola virus, which killed thousands of people from 2014 to 2016 in West Africa, was considered an epidemic because it was confined to one region.

Another example of an outbreak that did not progress to pandemic proportions is the 2003 discovery of SARS, a type of coronavirus dubbed SARS-CoV. National and international health authorities, such as the World Health Organization, acted quickly to slow and eventually end localized SARS epidemics before they could become a pandemic, but the disease has not been eradicated.

Additionally, cases of avian influenza, or bird flu, in 2004 and 2005 did not reach pandemic status because the virus did not cause sustained and efficient human-to-human transmission. The disease was reportedly transmitted from bird to human, but there were few, if any, cases of proven human-to-human transmission.

What's included in a pandemic plan?

An organization's pandemic plan should take into consideration potential shortages of raw materials and supplies, as well as how, if possible, the business will obtain enough materials to keep operations running at an acceptable level. The U.S. government recommends that all businesses have continuity plans stipulating how they would keep their business running with high absenteeism and shortages -- and what they will do if forced to reduce production or limit work to essential services.

Pandemic preparedness checklist

Use the pandemic preparedness checklist below to help your company evaluate the potential short- and long-term impact of a pandemic. It is divided into five stages with different sets of tasks. To conduct a pandemic preparedness check, evaluate each task and indicate if it is complete, in progress or not started.

1. Assess business impact

• Conduct a risk assessment to define the likelihood of a pandemic affecting the organization.
• Conduct a business impact analysis to understand the effects of a pandemic on operations throughout the organization.
• Estimate the effects on business-related domestic and international travel.
• Establish plans to deal with significantly increased or decreased demand for products and services.

2. Address employee needs

• Make sure that employees know about available healthcare services.
• Promote or facilitate vaccination clinics for employees.
• Establish policies to prevent infection in the workplace.
• Define policies for employee sick leave.
• Decide how to deal with high absentee rates.

3. Establish a pandemic response plan

• Identify a pandemic coordinator or team and define their responsibilities.
• Identify essential employees and critical inputs necessary to maintain business operations.
• Develop and distribute information and materials covering pandemic fundamentals.
• Develop platforms and channels for communicating pandemic status and actions to employees, suppliers, customers and vendors.
• Identify the triggers for activating and ending the pandemic plan.

4. Allocate resources

• Provide infection control supplies at all business locations.
• Confirm the availability of medical consultation and advice for emergency response.
• Optimize IT infrastructure to support telecommuting and remote customer access.

5. Communicate with external organizations

• Collaborate with insurers, health plans, major local healthcare facilities, public health agencies -- federal, state and local -- and emergency responders to understand their capabilities and plans.
• Communicate with local and state health agencies and emergency responders to identify ways in which the organization can help the community during a pandemic.
• Share pandemic planning best practices with other businesses and associations in the community to improve overall response efforts.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in 2020. Informa TechTarget editors updated it in June 2025 to improve readability.