March 11, 2021, marks one year since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. In some ways, we understand the crisis better than we did a year ago: the failures of detection, preparation, and cooperation; the economic and social toll; the political repercussions; the missteps and the successes of the scientific response. But even now, much remains uncertain—including the question of whether the world will be better prepared the next time.