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Abstract Event-based surveillance systems have proven critical for early detection of disease outbreaks by analyzing informal data sources, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) offers new opportunities to enhance these capabilities at scale. We describe the Biothreats Emergence, Analysis and Communications Network (BEACON), a novel platform that combines a domain-adapted large language model with expert human oversight to provide rapid, contextualized outbreak reporting across the globe, while highlighting both the transformative potential and current limitations of AI-assisted disease surveillance. 

This Viewpoint investigates the lack of a comprehensive infectious diseases alert system in the US and proposes solutions for such a system, including linking changing threat levels to specific response actions. 

Abstract Despite notable scientific and medical advances, broader political, socioeconomic and behavioural factors continue to undercut the response to the COVID-19 pandemic 1,2 . Here we convened, as part of this Delphi study, a diverse, multidisciplinary panel of 386 academic, health, non-governmental organization, government and other experts in COVID-19 response from 112 countries and territories to recommend specific actions to end this persistent global threat to public health. The panel developed a set of 41 consensus statements and 57 recommendations to governments, health systems, industry and other key stakeholders across six domains: communication; health systems; vaccination; prevention; treatment and care; and inequities. In the wake of nearly three years of fragmented global and national responses, it is instructive to note that three of the highest-ranked recommendations call for the adoption of whole-of-society and whole-of-government approaches 1 , while maintaining proven prevention measures using a vaccines-plus approach 2 that employs a range of public health and financial support measures to complement vaccination. Other recommendations with at least 99% combined agreement advise governments and other stakeholders to improve communication, rebuild public trust and engage communities 3 in the management of pandemic responses. The findings of the study, which have been further endorsed by 184 organizations globally, include points of unanimous agreement, as well as six recommendations with >5% disagreement, that provide health and social policy actions to address inadequacies in the pandemic response and help to bring this public health threat to an end.