Reducing the global burden of sepsis: a positive legacy for the COVID-19 pandemic?

The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in December 2019 and the subsequent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has presented the world with the most serious health threat in living memory. The resultant pandemic has caused millions of deaths and unprecedented social and economic disruption. The response to the pandemic has also been unprecedented; countries have closed their borders, some have instituted draconian but effective public health measures, and the global scientific community has come together to produce robust research evidence and novel vaccines in record time. Mass vaccination programs are now underway, and while it is too early to know clearly their effectiveness in ending the pandemic, we can hope that this marks the beginning of the end.