I just have to ask - Why can't we do both? Why can't we continue the vaccine push for now, but also work on future ideas/plans for the upcoming pandemics?
It may end unfortunately up a political issue but the ideas don't have to start as one.
(also it's not just limited to building more hospitals or hiring more people - there are a lot of exiting new approaches to patient care that can be utilized in pandemic planning - just for example - telehealth has EXPLODED this past year, in part due to waivers for what's allowed to be considered telehealth granted by CMS for duration of pandemic - but providers already working on how to make some of those waivers permanent policy. An interesting read:
https://healthtechmagazine.net/article/2021/10/hospital-home-future-healthcare )