An expert panel of doctors and researchers say Canada needs to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic and take action before the next health emergency strikes.

One of the six experts, Dr. Fahad Razak, says most scientists believe it’s “only a matter of time” before another global health crisis hits.

The panel’s report, called “The Time to Act is Now,” says disease surveillance, hospitalization data and research findings need to be communicated much more effectively between the provinces, the territories and the federal government.