>>11815575Probably lots of things
>Genetic engineering granting immunity to certain things>Maybe some kind of nanotechnology which supports the immune system (maybe it could selectively target pathogens based on a massive pre-existing database of all known pathogens, rather than requiring the immune system be exposed first)>Better AI which can discover, research, and test treatments and vaccines much more efficiently and effectively>Maybe a person or AI will discover some kind of near-universal antibiotic or antiviral that's safe and effective and prevents evolved resistance/evasion through some clever means>Maybe before there are any huge technological leaps, there could be some kind of organized supply chain effort where antibodies from recovered people can be multiplied in a lab and freely distributed to peopleI think it's just a matter of speed. If we get some horrifying superbug (like ebola but with very long incubation period where you're infectious, asymptomatic carriers who may be able to spread it for a long time, and some transmission mechanism that makes it super easy to catch just by being near people) within the next few decades, we could be in real trouble. But we might be able to outrace it if we're lucky enough to not have to face such a superbug for a century or more.
The only issue is that as our mitigation technology improves, so will bioweapon technology. I personally think it's kind of unlikely we'll see any bioweapon deployed by a nation intentionally, since it's so unpredictable and could easily cause more harm to themselves than other countries.
But an unintentional escape, or some kind of crazy psychopathic cults/terrorists/lone wolfs who obtain or engineer biological or chemical WMDs with the goal of killing as many humans as possible globally (like Aum Shinrikyo), could be devastating. Though, who knows, maybe this lockdown trial run will end up helping to save us from the worst of such a weapon in the future.
