Six years after declaring COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern, the world is preparing for the next pandemic through Exercise Polaris, which tested the global response.[1] During the simulation, countries led their own responses and worked with WHO for coordination and support, demonstrating the importance of trust and mutual accountability.[1] WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the exercise showed the world is collectively more prepared than ever, but no country can face the pandemic alone.[1] The pandemic agreement, the result of more than three years of negotiations, is intended to strengthen global preparedness and be legally binding.[2] The impetus for the agreement was the COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed millions of lives between 2020 and 2022, with a planned finalization by May 2025.[2] WHO emphasizes the close connection between the health of people, animals and the planet, as well as the connection of pandemics with the destruction of nature.[3] In a September 2019 report, the WHO Monitoring Commission stated that the planet is unprepared for devastating pandemics.[3] The current high activity of the influenza virus in at least 27 of the 38 European countries is putting pressure on the health systems.[5]