The abuse of antibiotics leads to drug resistant bacteria not viruses. These superbugs pose a different sort of public health hazard than a flu like virus such as sarscov2. More like minor surgery leads to MRSA and death. Not to mention bacteria (even super resistant ones) don't have the airborne infectiousness to cause a pandemic in this day and age. Something like the bubonic plague can easily be controlled by basic hygienic practices.

> Not to mention bacteria (even super resistant ones) don't have the airborne infectiousness to cause a pandemic in this day and age.

Not yet, that is the point. It is only a matter of time.

> Something like the bubonic plague can easily be controlled by basic hygienic practices.

Agreed, but we see with coronavirus how many people (sometimes intentionally) ignore them. Besides many places even in developed nations lack basic hygienic needs, such as prisons (see e.g. https://www.coe.int/t/dg3/health/Prisonsreport_en.asp), which leads to endemic tuberculosis outbreaks in prison inmates.

> the Western world ignored what happened in Asia. There's a reason why so many infections and deaths are in Western countries.

Conversely, maybe Asia could make some changes to their food and wildlife handling practices so they aren't regularly introducing novel viruses to humans.

That's a racist argument, especially when looking at how Western ag farming practices have led to many epidemics and illnesses. We are all in this boat together but unlike most Western countries with lots of variety people would actually starve given that wet markets are their sole place to get food. No need to repeat Mao.

There isn't anything at all racist in my comment, either in intent or actual content. China, in particular, has stopped those exact markets in the past and they could do it again. They could build a food distribution system that does not rely on wildlife in wet markets. It is entirely reasonable to suggest that mitigation efforts for the next potential pandemic is absolutely as much their responsibility as it is any Western nation.

Epidemics are relatively common, but a global pandemic of this magnitude hasn't happened in 100 years. Maybe we'll see more of them, maybe we won't, but no company is going to invest in hedging against a once-a-century risk.